The Art of Breaking
by 229442486847
Summary: Mustang and Hughes try to help Edward dealing with the after-effects of his rape. When Edward finds out more about his rapist though, he is soon faced with a much bigger threat than one man alone. Warning: rape, adult themes, gore, coarse language
1. So Lovely

This is my first Fullmetal Alchemist fic. Tell me if you like it and if I should continue this, because it's the first time for me writing something like this.

Warning: This chapter contains rape, graphic violence and coarse language.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

– **The Art of Breaking –**

Chapter I  
– So Lovely –

"Where did that pipsqueak go?" A raven-haired man rushed down an empty street, frantically looking for a blond teen.

"Calm down, Roy," another man uttered. "We'll find him."

"Scar is running around here, Alphonse is in pieces because of him, Fullmetal is alone and there's a _war_ raging here! How can I calm down, Hughes? He is going to get himself killed and I'll have to do the whole paperwork!"

"We will find him, alive," Hughes replied calmly. "So don't worry. Remember it's Edward we're talking here about. Even though he's still a child, he is able to protect himself just fine."

"I know and I'm not worried because of that. But Scar is on the loose and he already crushed Alphonse. You saw what Scar did to him: There's a huge hole in his right side and Edward was almost killed by Scar before. That's enough reason for me to be pissed."

Currently, the two men were in Pendleton, where border wars between Amestris and Creta had been going on for ages. The Fullmetal Alchemist had been sent on a mission there. Supposedly, there was a retired State Alchemist performing chimera experiments with humans, which was strictly prohibited by Amestrian law. Edward and Alphonse had been supposed to look for that alchemist, find out the truth behind the suspicions and if they had to turn out as true, then Edward had been supposed to arrest the man. But reports had arrived, a day after the two brothers' departure, that stated that Scar had been spotted in Pendleton, so Mustang and his subordinates had been sent to there in order to find the violent man. The Ishvalan though had once again escaped from their grasp, injuring two soldiers in the process.

During the attempted capture of Scar, Mustang and his subordinates had run into Alphonse, who had been fighting with the red-eyed man before their arrival. The poor boy's right side had been torn open when they had found him, but Edward was nowhere to be found. The younger Elric then had told them that his brother probably was with the State Alchemist Lieutenant Colonel Draigen Jackson they had met. Not the one they were after, but one that was stationed in Pendleton to join the war. Though when Mustang and Hughes had decided to search for the man, while the Colonel's other subordinates were clearing the area, Jackson also was nowhere to be found.

"Roy, maybe we should go to this place's military base," the Hughes suggested, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I think we might find Jackson and Edward there."

"I already called there and the secretary told me that Jackson called this morning, saying he would be away the whole day without giving any reason."

A frown appeared on Hughes' usually calm features. "People are fighting in a war here and he just takes a day off? Sounds suspicious, if you ask me."

"That's another reason why I'm worried. Scar's going havoc somewhere around here and Fullmetal probably is with some suspicious guy we don't even know."

"He's a State Alchemist you said?" Hughes inquired as he looked sideways at his friend of many years.

Mustang nodded in response. "He became Lieutenant Colonel last year when he turned thirty-five. He uses water as well as plant based alchemy and is able to transmute the water within plants. That way he is able to control plants after his will and can also transmute them into weapons. The Führer dubbed him the _Black Thorn Alchemist_, since his first name _Draigen_ means _black thorn._ Of course, him being able to transmute plants is also part of the meaning."

"Sounds pretty impressive," Hughes mentioned nonchalantly. "He might surpass you before you become General." Hughes chuckled as his friend flinched a little.

"He's one rank beneath me and I'm younger than him, so I don't think he will surpass me anytime soon, Hughes."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of rushed steps echoing from the walls of the alley they were walking through.

"Someone's coming," Hughes hissed heatedly. "Let's wait for the person to come to us."

In response, the Flame Alchemist only nodded. Together with Hughes he pressed himself against the wall next to the corner the steps were coming from. The steps became louder. Soon also could hear someone's frantic breathing, almost as if the person was hyperventilating. Almost out of nowhere, something came running around the corner, crashing into Mustang and sending them both to the floor.

As Mustang looked up, he spotted a blond teen sitting in his lap. But Edward wasn't looking at him – unlike most people that just had crashed into someone would – but at something behind him.

"Fullmetal." The raven-haired man sat up, the teen still in his lap. "Fullmetal!" he tried again, now with a mix of anger and worry chiming in his voice.

But no response.

Mustang gripped the red-cladded teen's shoulders and shook him a little, his worry slowly overshadowing his anger.

Feeling the man's touch, Edward gasped and turned his head to meet the Flame Alchemist's glare. "Don't touch me!" He jolted away from the man, stumbling backwards. He suddenly hit something. Quickly, he turned around, only to look at Hughes' worried face.

"Ed, what happened?" Hughes questioned in concern, placing one hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Get away from me, fucking bastard!" Edward pulled himself away from the spectacled man and attempted to run away. But he was stopped by Hughes gripping his flesh wrist.

"Don't run away, it's dangerous around here." With a worried expression, the spectacled man watched the teen in his grip struggle to get away from him.

Bringing his head down, Edward bit down hard on Hughes' arm, the one holding his wrist.

Hughes flinched as pain coursed through his whole arm, but didn't loosen his grip on the boy. After Edward finally had let go of him, he felt blood dripping from his lower arm. As even a sob escaped from the boy's mouth, he pulled the teen into a hug, holding him to his broad chest. "It's okay, Ed. Everything's all right."

"Let me go," Edward's muffled voice sounded against his chest. "Please, just let me go. Let me go." More sobs escaped from the shaking boy. "Why are you doing this to me? Just… let…" The weakened teen's body slumped against Hughes, Edward falling into the depths of unconsciousness. Only Hughes' grip around the smaller male prevented Edward from falling to the ground.

Mustang, who had watched the whole scene, shook his head in disbelief. "What just happened? Fullmetal he… Was he crying?"

Concern made Hughes' voice a little shaky. "Something terrible must have happened to him, Roy. Even though he's unconscious, I can feel him still shaking."

"But what could be so horrible that would cause Edward to be like this?" Onyx eyes were filled with disbelief and concern.

"I'm sure we'll find out eventually. Let's first get Ed away from here."

Not able to take his eyes off of Edward, Mustang nodded. Together with Hughes, he headed back to where they were supposed to meet with the others, Hughes carrying Edward and Mustang never averting his gaze away from the teen's pale and blood-covered face.

Later, the two of them arrived at the large alley where they met up with First Lieutenant Hawkeye, the Second Lieutenants Havoc and Breda, Warrant Officer Vato Falman and Sergeant Major Kain Fuery and of course the torn Alphonse Elric. Mustang and Hughes were greeted with shocked looks from all of them. Hawkeye's brown eyes widened for a short moment seeing the unconscious and bloody Fullmetal Alchemist, but soon narrowed as the woman eyed the shaken-looking Mustang. Havoc immediately straightened up from his position leaning against one of the black cars, while Breda, Falman and Fuery shot surprised looks and released shocked gasps from where they stood by Alphonse. From the armor a gasp escaped as well seeing his brother.

"He just ran into us," Hughes tried to explain calmly. "We don't know what happened to him, since he fell unconscious soon after we found him."

"Nii-san!" Immediately standing up, Alphonse ran over to where his injured brother was being held. "H-He… He looks so… dead." His hollow and childish voice trembled in fear.

"He's not dead, Al. He's still breathing." Hughes gave the boy a reassuring smile. "It's Ed. He won't die that easily."

Hawkeye then noticed the blood dripping from Hughes' right arm that was holding Edward's knees. "You're injured."

"And there's blood on his mouth," Havoc added shakily, his features lined with shock and worry. "Did he bite you? Gosh, there's so much blood on his face."

"Don't worry," the spectacled man replied reassuringly. "He did bite me, but most of the blood already was on his face when we found him. By the looks of it, I think his lower lip is torn a bit."

"That's horrible! What happened to him?" Even though Alphonse was trapped in an armor having no senses, the anxious shaking of metal plates was heard. "Nii-san."

"He'll be all right, Alphonse," Mustang assured him. "I promise."

"Guys, I don't know how long I can take this," Hughes whined, heaving the teen in his arms up a bit, since he was beginning to slide down. "Though he's pretty short, Ed's automail is really heavy."

It was weird not hearing Edward yell at someone for calling him short.

"I think we should go straight to a hospital," Mustang suggested, now focused and stern again. "Since we don't know how injured he is, we should lay him down in one of our car's backseat. I think the best would be if he came with me and Hughes."

After a "Yes, Sir" had come from all of his saluting subordinates, Mustang made his way towards his sleek black car together with Hughes. Mustang opened the back-seat's door and helped his friend lay Edward down onto the soft cushioned seats. He noticed the teen's tank top, that normally was neaty tugged into the leather pants, being untucked and loose. As some of Edward's skin was shown, his onyx eyes widened as something caught his attention. "Hughes."

"What's the matter?" Finally, the spectacled man was able to let the boy go, since Edward was now placed safely on the seats.

Mustang gripped the hem of Edward's shirt and pulled it up, shock reappearing on his face. "Look at this."

"Oh my god." Hughes' shock-widened green eyes trailed over the teen's now exposed waist and stomach. The skin was covered in angry red and blue bruises and countless cuts lined it. "What the hell happened to him?" His expression became thoughtful and Hughes tried his best to think logically and analyze the informations on hand. "He was scared when we found him and he didn't want us to touch him. His waist and stomach are covered in bruises and cuts and he's very weak. It almost looks as if he was–"

"Don't even think something like that!" Mustang interrupted his friend harshly. "There's no way something like that would happen to him! He lost an arm and a leg and dealt with it it. He fights against artificial super-humans and always comes back alive. And no matter how messed up his situation is, he always gets out somehow and always survives."

"Roy, I don't want to believe it either, but things like this can happen. To anyone, even Ed."

"He was not raped," Mustang insisted, face growing more and more serious. "It might look like it, but this definitely wasn't caused by someone raping him. He probably just fell and received a few bruises and a concussion, causing him to act weird. Also, when he fell he probably bit his lip accidently."

"So, you're saying all this is caused by Edward simply falling?" Obviously, Hughes was doubting that theory. "Roy, he was scared shitless! He was crying and shaking!"

"Let's get him to a hospital. The others are already waiting." Mustang ended the argument with those words and sat himself in the passenger seat, while Hughes dropped himself onto the driver's seat heaving a sigh.

Three cars, being occupied by eight persons and one armor, headed straight for the next hospital, ignoring and breaking probably all existing traffic rules.

* * *

Mustang's and Hughes' car was silent in order to not disturb the injured teen lying in the back. It seemed he wasn't unconscious anymore and instead sleeping, since he sometimes stirred a little. It was obvious that he was having a nightmare, but the two men were unable to do anything. Getting medical attention was the first priority at that time.

_A heavy and heated body pressed itself to the smaller boy's body. Skin burned from the dread coiling itself in the younger male's body._

A frown formed on Edward's once peaceful-looking face.

_Edward was on his knees, not able to free himself from the green plants snaking around his arms and legs, holding him down. Large hands roamed over his shaking body, tracing the defined muscles under his black shirt._

Brows furrowed as the blonde whimpered a little. Mustang glanced back, watched the teen, felt useless, was unable to help his subordinate.

_A husky and dark voice was moaning into his ear in a pleased fashion, causing the teen to tremble even more. Fingers shook in anticipation, snaking around his waist to the waistband of his tight leather pants._

The Fullmetal Alchemist started to shake slightly, fear written over his sleeping features.

_"Stop it! Let me go, you fucking bastard!" Edward yelled at the man, covering the blonde's backside with his own heated body._

_Chuckles escaped from a grinning mouth, a sly tongue wetting dry lips. "My, my, Edo-kun. Temper as always."_

Mustang wasn't able to save Edward from his nightmares. The boy's body shook violently now.

* * *

"Don't touch me, you fucking pervert!"

"Oh? What will you do to stop me?" More, louder chuckles fell from the smugly smirking mouth. "You're in no _position_ to do anything. If you struggle, it will just get harder on you."

"You bastard! I'll hit you so hard, by the time you come down you'll need a passport and a train ticket back to where you were!"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" the man inquired while unbuckling the teen's pants.

"S-Stop it! Drop dead, you disgusting excuse of a goddamn motherfucker!"

"I like my little Chibi-chan being angry." The man's hand tightened around the boy's waistband.

"Who are you calling short enough to make even ants break formation and stare?" Suddenly, Edward felt his pants being shoved down to his mid-thighs together with his boxers. Part of his lower half was now exposed to the cool air of the gloomy and dark room.

"So lovely," the man's dark voice whispered huskily into Edward's ear.

Golden eyes widened at the sound of clothes rustling and another's pants being unbuttoned. The tip of something warm brushed against his entrance and a surprised whimper escaped him. "W-What–" Something large shoved it's way shamelessly into his body. It felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside and he had to suppress a pained scream. He wouldn't allow himself to give that disgusting man that kind of satisfaction.

Without any hesitation the man pulled away again, only to slam himself into the teen's entrance over and over again.

Edward bit down on his lower lip as hard as he could to prevent himself from screaming and to distract himself with a different kind of ache from the pain coursing through his trembling body. Soon, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, red liquid dripping over his chin and onto the gray and dirty ground.

The sheer force of the violent thrusts pushed him onto his elbows, which weren't covered by plant twines, the skin being torn as he was pushed back and forth on the floor. Hands gripped his sides violently, nails digging into sweaty skin.

Blood mingled with sweat, tears collected at the brim of golden eyes.

Deep moans and the sound of skin clashing against skin filled the room.

"B-Bastard," the golden-haired teen whispered miserably. Edward was barely able to surpress his screams of anguish.

Suddenly, the man slid his sweaty hand into the front of the boy's pants, his fingers tightening around Edward's length. "Moan for me. I want to hear your lovely voice, Edo-kun." He jerked his hand up and down the teen's length, causing the blonde to squirm.

But no moan left his mouth. No hiss or scream. Nothing.

Getting mad at the teen's disobedience, the man smirked evilly, slamming harder into the small body. He earned a small whimper, but still no moan. He jerked his hand faster, but no sound left Edward's mouth. And he slammed harder.

An eternity seemed to pass until the man arched his back with a loud scream of pleasure and released his semen into the trembling body beneath him. After pulling himself out of the Fullmetal Alchemist, he cleaned himself with a rag that had laid somewhere nearby and pulled his pants up again.

Edward of course had noticed the man pulling away from him, but was still unable to move due to the plants still gripping his limbs in a strong hold.

A satisfied sigh left the man as he looked down at his victim. "So lovely," he murmured. With a flick of his wrist, the ring on his right hand started to glow in an eery light and the plants stirred, forcing Edward into a sitting position. "Now I'm going to have some more fun." With those words uttered, he knelt down in front of the younger male and forced his mouth onto the bloody lips, hungrily lapping up the red liquid. With his wet tongue, he traced the bloody tracks running down the soft chin and over the sweaty neck. "So lovely," he murmured again after pulling away. He felt the body beneath him struggle against his roaming touch, but ignored the desperate attempts at fleeing.

As now bloodied lips inched closer to Edward's own again, the teen bit down hard on the other man's lower lip, drawing blood. The man pulled back with a snarl and the teen used that chance to hit his own head against the man's forehead. With a gasp, the man fell back and Edward felt the plants holding him loosening their grip. He was able to raise his hands and clap them together, then he brought them down to the dusty floor. The blue light of the alchemical reaction lit the darkened room. He raised the temperature of the water within the plants around him, until they exploded in a burst of green substance and leaves.

Steam filled the room and with a jolt Edward stood upright, the adrenaline rushing through his vains numbing his pain. He burst through the first door he could find while pulling up his pants, zipping and buckling them closed again. Soon, he found himself on a street. From behind himself he could hear the man cursing and coming after him. Running with what little strength he still had left he searched for some way to get away. But he didn't know where to go, nor where he could hide. One thing he knew though: He wanted to get away from that man.

Footsteps and a husky voice, not far behind him, caused him to run even faster, rounding corner for corner, loosing himself in his fear of being caught again.

* * *

So, this is it. My first rape-fic. Should I continue this? I'm really anxious about the reactions. Will there be people flaming me? If there will be any, then I don't care. Then I at least know that person read the story. Of course I will be thankful for any good responses.

–Murasaki


	2. Unnerving Oblivion

Here's the next chapter!

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for reading and reviewing this story and adding it to alerts and favourites. That really gave me constant squeal-attacks. My mother already glares at me with that weird look because whenever I look at my monitor at the reviews, I start squealing like some mad fangirl (ADD much?).

*high on reading reviews over and over again*

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

_Footsteps and a husky voice, not far behind him, caused him to run even faster, rounding corner for corner, loosing himself in his fear of being caught again._

* * *

Chapter II  
– Unnerving Oblivion –

"Ed, wake up! Wake up! Edward!"

_Who the hell is shaking me like that? I wanna sleep! Gosh, my eyes feel so heavy. I can't even open them_ _and man, that dream was horrible! _The blonde could only manage to groan a little.

"Ed, are you awake?"

_There's that voice again. Just who's calling me? Don't they see I don't want to be awake?_

"Lemme sleep," the blonde slurred sleepily.

"You need to get up, or I'll have to carry you, Ed."

_Is that Hughes?_

"Hu-Hughes?" Finally, amber eyes opened and faced worried light-green ones. Blinking, Edward noticed something wet on his face. He pulled his flesh hand over his face and found sweat, blood and… tears? "I… I was crying in my sleep?"

"Ed, I need you to get up so we can take you to the hospital. I can call someone to bring a wheelchair or a stretcher if you want." Hughes stood at the opened door of the black car's back-seats, next to where Edward lay, a worried expression plastered on his face.

_Hospital? Wheelchair? What the hell's going on? Wait, I'm injured? _The blonde released an annoyed groan. "I don't need a fucking wheelchair. Just let me go home. I'm fine."

"You need medical attention, Ed. The doctors have to confirm if you really were…" The Lieutenant Colonel trailed off.

"Confirm what? Why do I need medical attention?" the teen demanded to know. "I'm fine, so just let me go home." To clarify his point, Edward raised himself with a jolt from his laying position, only to be forced down again by pain shooting through his body. "What the– What happened? Why do I feel sore all over?"

Worry crossed Hughes' features. "Don't you remember anything?"

"What should I remember?" Suddenly Edward did remember something. "Wait, what about Al? We got separated when we chased Scar! Is he alright?"

"Scar got him, but he's alright. He has a large tear in his left side, but we picked all the pieces up we could find," the man replied with a reassuring smile.

"That's good. I need to fix him soon, I guess." Seemingly relieved now, Edward relaxed in his seat a little.

"We need to get you into the hospital, _now_. You're probably seriously injured, Ed."

"What are you talking about?" the teen asked rather frustrated.

A sigh left the spectacled man's mouth. _Maybe the adrenaline and the shock are still numbing his pain_, he thought. "What is the last thing you remember, Ed?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. _What_ should I remember?"

"Something happened to you. You ran into me and Roy and were completely out of it. I tried to stop you from running around more, so I grabbed you and then you bit me. Pretty hard."

Just now, Edward noticed the bandage around Hughes' right lower arm. Blood was still leaking from the wound, tinting the material crimson. "Sorry." He went silent for a moment, thinking.

"It's not that bad, really. It's not even that deep, just bleeding like mad. So what do you remember?"

"The last thing I remember, before waking up here, is chasing Scar together with Jackson."

"Draigen Jackson, the State Alchemist?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, that guy. Before Scar appeared, Al and I were headed towards that retired State Alchemist's house cause we were supposed to investigate him. But on our way there, some guys from Creta ambushed us because they thought we were enemies. Well… we _are _Amestrians after all, but anyway: Though Al and I didn't have a problem dealing with them, there were just so many of them and we were getting tired. Then Jackson appeared and helped us escape. After that Scar showed up and then we fought against him, but somehow I got separated from Al and ended up with Jackson. Al was the one chasing after Scar and I wanted to go after him, but… after that I don't remember anything."

"I see." The worry still didn't leave Hughes' face. "I'm sure the others are coming right now with a stretcher for you. They all went into the hospital to prepare everything." The green-eyed man smiled encouragingly at the teen.

"I don't need to go to a fucking hospital! Why are you insisting on me being injured?"

"When you were sleeping, you had a nightmare. You were shivering, crying and mumbling incoherent stuff." Hughes ignored the boy's complaining completely. "What were you dreaming about?"

"I-I don't really know. I remember it being really clear when I dreamed it, but as soon as I woke up, I couldn't recall anything from the dream. The only thing I remember is pain and that feeling of helplessness." His expression dropped a little at the memory of that sickening feeling of not being able to protect himself.

"So you don't remember anything that happened after you got separated from Al?"

The teen just shook his head in response with a sad expression. "What happened?"

"We don't know either, that's why I'm asking you. But now lets get you treated. Look, Al's already coming with the paramedics."

As the blonde raised himself carefully, trying to ignore the pain coming from his lower back, he looked out of the opened door and soon spotted his armor of a brother running towards them with two paramedics at his heels.

"You're awake, Nii-san! That's great!" the metallic voice chimed. "We got you a stretcher, so we can bring you to the hospital."

Edward's smile wavered a little. "But Al, I really don't need–"

"You _will_ get treated and I _won't _let you go home until you're healed up." The boy's tone obviously didn't allow any complains, so the older Elric let himself be dragged onto the stretcher obediently, still feeling sorry for injuring Hughes.

Only a few moments passed, until he could smell the clean scent of the white hospital building. White walls enclosing him and nurses as well as doctors walking around busily. The white light surrounding him stung his eyes, so he shut them, hearing his brother's concerned voice.

"Nii-san," he sighed. "Does he even hear me? He looks so…" The boy trailed off.

"He's going to be fine, Al."

That was Hughes, but somehow his voice seemed to steadily vanish. He kept talking to Alphonse, but what he was saying didn't reach Edward. Everything around him slowly faded away and with a groan he let himself fall into the inviting depths of unconsciousness.

Looking down at Edward, Hughes heaved a sigh. "He fell unconscious again. I don't really know wether I should be glad or worried."

The stretcher with Edward on it then was pushed into one of the rooms, a doctor already standing outside of it. Mustang and his subordinates were already waiting in front of said room.

"Good evening, I'm Dr. Noah Walker. I will be caring for Elric-san." An elderly doctor greeted them in front of the room, while Edward was brought into said room. He looked back at the Fullmetal Alchemist. "So this is Edward Elric." Then he averted his gaze away from the teen again to face the persons standing in front of him. "He does look very weak. What happened to him?"

"We don't know," Hughes answered. "We found him like this and he seems to not remember anything."

"So he's been awake?" The doctor glanced at the other spectacled man over the brim of his glasses.

"Yes. He was awake just now, but only for a couple moments. Then he fell unconscious again."

"That's good to know. We're going to check him over to see how injured he is. As soon as we find something, I will inform you." After giving the persons in front of the room a reassuring smile, Dr. Walker entered Edward's room and closed the door behind him.

"He can't remember anything?" The usually calm features of Mustang were slightly shadowed with worry.

With a sad expression Hughes shook his head. "When Ed woke up after his nightmare, I asked him if he could remember anything that happened."

While Hughes told him about what Edward and Alphonse had experienced on their mission, Mustang's expression darkened even more.

"It also seems as if he can't recall anything that happened in his dream, only the feeling of pain and helplessness," the green-eyed man finished.

After hearing what Hughes had said, Fuery stepped up. "That sounds horrible! Just what happened to him?"

"I don't know, Kain-kun," Hughes replied. "The only way of finding out is by asking Ed, but when he doesn't remember anything…"

Everyone went silent. It was clear that something horrible must have happened to Edward, since he had lost his memory just like that. He was still a child to everyone. A child that had gone to hell and back so many times already, at such a young age.

Mustang crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't you have work to do?" he asked his subordinates with a stern and scolding face.

All of them, Havoc, Breda, Falman and Fuery, straightened up immediately. "Yes, Sir," they exclaimed in unison.

"Get back back to Headquarters and do your work," Mustang instructed his subordinates. "Hawkeye, accompany them and make sure they do their work properly."

"Yes, Sir." The only women among the male soldiers saluted and, together with the others, left.

An amused chuckle left Hughes, who looked after his companions walking away with annoyed expressions. "Don't you have work to do too?" he asked his friend.

"Fullmetal is my subordinate, so I'm the one responsible for him. What about you? Don't _you_ have work to do?" A small, lopsided smirk appeared on Mustang's face.

"I finished most of my work before we came here. I'll just stay here for a while and then go home. Seems you care for Ed pretty much, huh?"

"I told you: I'm his superior officer, so I'm responsible for him. Staying here after something like that happened is the least I can do. There's nothing personal about it."

Hughes' smile turned into a smug grin. "If you say so."

Alphonse just sat somewhere in the waiting room, watching the two men. He was glad that some of the tension had left a while ago, but the worry was still nagging at him, filling him with anxiety. "Nii-san…" he murmured.

* * *

About two hours had passed in which Mustang, Hughes and Alphonse had sat in their seats in the cold waiting room, waiting for something to happen, someone telling them what Edward's condition was. The white door to Edward's room finally opened again, revealing Dr. Walker, his expression unreadable.

With a jolt Mustang, Hughes and Alphonse stood upright from their seats, facing the white-cladded man.

The first to speak was Mustang, worry lining each of his words. "What did you find out?"

Dr. Walker sighed, before looking up from the clipboard he held. "Elric-san is covered in bruises and cuts, from his thighs to his lower back. There are bruises on his legs and arms that indicate that he has been bound and he also has bite marks on his neck. The skin of his lower lip is torn open, due to him probably biting on it himself. We found a white substance on and inside of him him that's definitely semen and we cleaned him up as good as we could. But the worst thing are the tears in the rectal and anal area."

Sharp intakes of breath and gasps were heard. Mustang dragged his hand over his face in despondency, Hughes covered his mouth with one hand in shock and Alphonse just kept motionless.

The metallic and shaky voice suddenly broke the silence. "What does that mean? What happened to Nii-san?"

Mustang turned around to face the slightly shaking armor. "He was raped, Alphonse."

There was still no reaction coming from Alphonse. He just sat there. Motionless. Wordless. Overwhelmed by the sheer incredibility of what had happened to his brother.

Insecurity crossed Hughes' worried features. "Will Ed be alright?"

Dr. Walker glanced at his clipboard again for a second, before facing the green-eyed man again. "He doesn't seem to have any sexually transmitted diseases and those injuries aren't something that won't heal when time given," the doctor answered. "What I'm most concerned about are the mental injuries. He will regain his memory eventually and at that time, he will have to face huge mental issues, such as flashbacks to the attack and retaliation fantasies that can be very shocking, due to their graphic violence. He might show nervous or compulsive behavior, depression and mood swings, withdrawal from relationships and changes in sexual activity. He also might feel things like anger and anxiety, denial, guilt, shame or humiliation, fear and a feeling of loss of control and of self-respect. All that are things that he might have to encounter, though it's unlikely that all of them will show up. I myself have encountered many rape victims in my time here. We're near a war zone after all and I assume you have heard of war rape, gentlemen." The gray-haired and balding man focused his questioning glare on Mustang and also Hughes.

Hughes' expression dropped a little at the thought. "Rape committed by soldiers, in order to either humiliate the enemy or to undermine their moral."

"Exactly." Dr. Walker struggled to keep a straight face. "We are lucky that this hospital isn't too near to the war zone itself. Other hospitals in Pendleton have already been destroyed and ours has been attacked just last week. But since we made a deal with the Amestrian government not to treat Cretans, they assured us their protection, so this is the most safe place in this area right now. I tell you that since you either probably already know something or will find out eventually anyway."

"Anything else, Sir?" Mustang wanted to know.

Dr. Walker shot the raven-haired man a calculating glare, before answering. "In addition to the memory loss, Elric-san might encounter changes in his sleep patterns, loss of appetite, head- and stomachaches and nausea. Right now he's still unconscious, but soon will be awake again. He shouldn't be left alone in his mentally unstable condition though, so I suggest there should be someone staying with him at all times. Of course, there could be several persons watching over him successively, since I cannot allow more than one person being in his room at a time."

"Of course," the Flame Alchemist replied. "I can arrange it that my subordinates will watch after him in turns. Since his brother is the most closest person to him, I suggest Alphonse-kun being the one to care for him first."

"I don't mind that, as long as someone is there for him." Ignoring the fact that said brother seemed to wear an armor, Dr. Walker gave Alphonse a warm smile.

One could say that Alphonse's expression lit up at the doctor's words. "Thank you, Dr. Walker! I'm glad my brother will have such a great doctor caring for him."

"It's what I chose as my job after all," the elderly man replied with a smile. "You can visit Elric-san now if you want. But try to not wake him, in case he's asleep." He stepped aside, allowing the two men and the armor to enter.

The three of them entered the cold hospital room, lit in cold white light. Together they faced the pale form of Edward Elric. Sleeping or unconscious, they couldn't tell. Alphonse was immediately at his brother's side, Hughes stood beside him and Mustang let himself fall into one of the seats. They all were worried about Edward, but they also were aware of the danger he had escaped from and that it could have ended far worse.

* * *

_"Kaa-san! Oka-san!" A small, blond boy ran down the dusty path towards his mother, holding something in his small hands._

_The brunette woman turned to her son with a smile. "What's the matter, Ed?"_

_"A present. I made it with alchemy." He held up a metal toy horse to her._

_"You did?" Trisha placed her right hand on her son's head and patted him. "You really are your father's son."_

_The little blonde's face lit up even more and he giggled._

_Trisha knelt down in front of her son, her hand still on the top of his head. "Thank you. You're really incredible, Ed. Being able to create such splendid things… But…"_

_Fresh tomatoes fell to the ground and splattered across the wooden floor._

_Suddenly, Edward found himself in the dark kitchen of their house. He looked up into his mother's face._

_"How come you couldn't make me properly…" a ghostly voice, coming from a rotten-looking mouth, asked._

_White eyes with no pupils looked down at him. The skin almost black and teeth showing through non-existent lips._

_Suddenly, there was a new, childish-sounding voice._

_"Onii-chan," it sounded cheerfully._

_The small boy, shaking in dread, turned around to face the source of the voice: Nina and Alex._

_Their bodies suddenly mashed together, creating __the__ chimera._

_"Let's play."_

_While frantically searching for a way to escape, the world around him became darker with every second, ghostly voices chiming around him._

_"Let's play."_

_"Why didn't you make me properly?"_

_"Otou-san… it hurts?_

_"Don't you love me anymore?"_

_Clutching his head, Edward tried to block out the voices, but soon heard another familiar voice._

_"Nii-san?"_

_Instantly the blonde removed his shaking hands from his head and averted his gaze to the person before him. Alphonse stood in front of him._

_"Nii-san? Why didn't you let me die?"_

_"W-What?"_

_"Why did you put me in this armor? Why didn't you just let me be and rest in peace?"_

_"B-But I–"_

_"You only thought of yourself. After mom died I was all you had left, so you didn't want to lose me and be alone. You're so selfish, Nii-san."_

_"B-But Al, I didn't mean to… I just wanted… I did it for us!"_

_"Us? I wouldn't have felt anything, only you would have felt the remorse and sadness of loosing me. But because of your selfishness, I now have to live in an armor for the rest of my life."_

_"We'll get your body back, Alphonse. I promi–"_

_"As if. Do you know how it is like to not be able to feel anything? Not being able to feel touch, pain and sensations. Not being able to eat, taste, sleep and smell? Being stared at for being in a huge armor? Being in some big trash can of old metal? You have no idea how I feel. Loosing two limbs is nothing compared to what I have to live through. Why didn't you just let me die in peace, without having to live through all this despair and sadness?"_

_"A-Al. I-I never–"_

_"You never thought about me, only about yourself… I hate you. From the depths of my non-existent heart."_

* * *

Sorry, if this chapter isn't that interesting, but I promise that I'll put lots of RoyxEd fluffiness into the next chapter! Though I recently discovered my sadistic side. Right now I am at a point where I write fics with little baby animals being crushed by a car… I'm crazy, I know.

Anyway, if I can manage, then the next chapter will be up in three days, on Friday. Leave many, many reviews and I'll hand out virtual German sweets to you.

See you then! ^^

Benze ;P


	3. Hope of Overcoming

I did it! I managed to finish the next chapter in three days! *claps excitedly* I did do my best to keep my promise. Now I'm exhausted. *falls over*

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter III  
– Hope of Overcoming –

The only one left in Edward's hospital room after four hours was Mustang and it was already six in the evening. Hughes had left two hours after the Fullmetal Alchemist had been brought to the hospital and gone back home to his family, while Alphonse had _had_ to go, though he only had left reluctantly so his _injuries_ could be patched up a bit better – at least until his brother was able to fix him again. And because Mustang neither had family waiting for him, nor any injuries having to be worried about and the only thing bothering him was his pile of paperwork, he was the only one able to watch over his subordinate. Everyone else was busy, so he had let Hawkeye bring him his paperwork over and had made himself a make-shift workplace made up of one single table on which he did his work. Once in a while, he glanced over to Edward to make sure he was fine, but otherwise was focused on his work.

But after another ten minutes, he noticed the sleeping teen's behavior changing. Edward stirred a lot, mumbled incoherent things and started to shake. At one point, Mustang could even make out a mumbled _Al_. Standing up from his makeshift-desk, he watched the teen. As Edward clutched the sheets on his bed so tight that his knuckles turned white, Mustang walked over to him and started to try to shake the blonde out of his nightmare.

"Fullmetal, wake up!"

The teen kept thrashing, sweating and breathing hard. "Al. Al, don't hate me, please," he mumbled. A single tear ran down his sweaty cheek and over his torn lip.

"Come on, Fullmetal. Wake up!" With another, harder shaking, Mustang tried again to free the teen from the clutches of his nightmare.

Suddenly, Edward's eyes snapped open and revealed teary, reddened eyes. With a jerk he sat up, gasping, as pain shot up from his bottom part. Another tear fell from his eyes and he trembled violently, pullings his legs to himself and hugging his knees. He had trouble controlling his breath and buried his heavy head in his knees.

"F-Fullmetal?" Mustang had never seen Edward in such a state. Crying and shaking. Not even at the time after the blonde and his brother had broken the taboo. And little did he know how to deal with it. _If only Hughes were here. _"Did… Did you have nightmare?"

The heavy breathing and shuddering then came to a stop. With a sniff the blonde raised his head from his knees, an annoyed expression plastered on his worn out features. "What kind of question is that, fucking Colonel Bastard?" he hissed.

"It's just…" Obviously Mustang was a _little _overwhelmed by the whole situation. He was told to watch over an _unconscious_, or at least _sleeping_ Edward and not a crying teen, having nightmares after being raped with anger issues, and a pissed one on top. Now, that was something no one had told him about.

"What are _you_ doing here anyway?" A sniff was heard. "Were you watching me having a nightmare and being all scared and crying, so you could blackmail me later? Oh, you should take a photo and bring it back to Headquarters so you can show it to everyone!" Another sniff sounded in the otherwise silent room and the teen hastily wiped away the still fresh tears.

"This is serious, Fullmetal. You're injured and we don't even know who did this to you."

"Well, _I_ don't have a clue who did _this _to me either, whatever _this _is. Everyone's telling me I'm _seriously _injured and that I need medical attention, but no one fucking _tells_ me _what _exactly happened to me! And why the hell do I have to wake up next to some useless bastard like _you_?"

"I'm the only person available right now to watch over you, so–"

"You won't tell me what's going on here anyway! Why am I even bothering? You're probably laughing your ass off on the inside right now seeing me being in a hospital bed. _Again!_ Because the great State Alchemist Colonel Roy Mustang, who once will be become General of the Army would never injure himself, because he is too damn busy with more important things than missions in an actual war zone! He already has enough fucking war experience from killing off whole populations of Ishvalans with the aid of a technology that needed even more dead people!"

A scowl appeared on the once calm and worried features of Mustang. "Who told you that?" he growled dangerously.

"Well, who could have told me? But does that really matter? You seem like some sick bastard that enjoys watching others suffer anyway. It's just that you probably switched from killing off innocent people, using human sacrifices to increase your own power, to bothering _me_ and destroying _my _life. The only difference is: You won't burn me up, because you're just some lousy–"

The next second, the Flame Alchemist's palm connected with the Fullmetal Alchemist's cheek with a loud smack. Edward's head was blown to the side by the sheer force of the hit.

Trying to control his anger-hitched breath, Mustang soon after pulled his hand away again. Wrath filled every fiber of his muscles, his hands trembling as he tugged them both to his side, glaring at Edward with a rage-filled glare. "Stop talking bullshit! Don't you get it? We're all worried about you and you just go on and insult me! Why don't you even try to find out what happened to you?"

Suddenly, the door opened and a worried looking Hughes stepped in. "What's going on? I heard you shouting, Roy. I just came over because Gracia made a cake for Ed and I–" He then noticed the shaking Edward who was hugging his legs again, his head buried in his knees. "What did you do, Roy?"

Realisation finally hit Mustang as he looked down at the shaking form on the bed. "F-Fullmetal?"

"Roy, what did you do?" Hughes questioned again, more firmly. Now the one growing angry was him, while Mustang just stood there, dumbfounded.

"Maes, I… I hit him."

"You _what_? What the hell were you thinking hitting someone who has been raped only hours ago?"

"I-I…" Mustang was at a loss of words. He didn't actually _know_ what he had been thinking. Somehow a circuit in his brain seemed to have burst at that time. Abruptly, Hughes flabbergasted voice pulled Mustang out of his thoughts again.

"Oh shit."

Just now, Mustang noticed that Edward was looking up again. His gaze was fixed on the two men at his side. His face didn't show any sign of emotion, besides the silent tears running down his cheeks.

"I-I was… I was raped?" His shaky whisper was barely audible.

"Oh dear." A devastated sigh left Hughes. "Ed, I'm sorry." He slowly approached the teen, careful not to disturb the teen even more.

But his attempts were futile.

He had only made two steps, when a panicked gasp sounded through the hospital room and the shuddering Edward clasped his hands over his head, which was once again buried in his knees.

When Hughes made another step towards Edward, the blonde clawed his fingers in his damp, golden hair. "Get away from he!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Don't touch me!" His breaths came in pants and he was starting to have problems controlling his breathing.

Immediately, Hughes stepped back again, startled by the sudden outburst. Him and Mustang didn't want to get near Edward and disturb him more. They didn't know what to do as they watched Edward losing himself in his panic.

_"So lovely," the man's dark voice whispered huskily into Edward's ear._

"Don't. Stop it. I don't want it," the teen whimpered.

Mustang couldn't stand watching his subordinate like this. "Maes, we _have _to do something. We can't just let Edward have a panic attack!"

"Right, I'll try something and you go get a doctor."

"Okay." Soon, Mustang had disappeared out of the room, leaving Hughes alone with Edward.

Ignoring the boy's previous yelling, the spectacled man approached the teen carefully and sat himself at the edge of the bed. He lay one hand on Edward's back. "Ed, do you hear me?"

_Something large shoved it's way shamelessly into his small body. It felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside and he suppressed a pained scream._

"I don't want it. Make it stop, make it stop." Now Edward _actually _started to hyperventilate. He was panting like a madman. But through his flashback-induced haze, he could make out Hughes' soothing voice.

"Ed, you need to concentrate on your breathing. Try to slow it down. I know you can do it."

Immediately, Edward averted his concentration onto his own breathing. "I can't… breathe," he panted. "My chest feels… like it's too tight. I feel… like I'm dying."

"You're not dying, Ed. Slow down your breathing and you'll be okay."

Ignoring the feeling of suffocating, Edward's panting seized after a while, but instead dizziness set in. "Now I'm getting dizzy, dammit."

Hughes heaved a relieved sigh and chuckled. "That's normal, you're just exhausted. Try to stay awake until the doctor comes so he can ask you some questions."

As if on cue, Mustang entered again, an annoyed look plastered on his face. "There aren't any doctors or nurses available. They're all busy with a bunch of injured Amestrian soldiers. They told me _Sorry, but too many doctors and nurses have quit after last week's attack and we're at a loss right now_. We have to wait until Dr. Walker is available again." He released an annoyed huff.

"It's okay, Roy," Hughes replied. "I think Ed's okay now. But I'll go call Al to tell him about this and also Gracia, so I can tell her that I'll stay a while longer. You just need to watch over Ed's breathing, otherwise make sure he stays calm." That said, the spectacled man ran off and gave Mustang no chance to retort.

"Great. Now I'm stuck with _you_ again," the raven-haired man drawled in his usual annoyed fashion.

Edward though didn't reply in any kind. He looked rather worn out and exhausted and just glared at the Colonel.

"Is there something on my face, Fullmetal?"

"Nah, just wondering why _you _are still here bothering me." Edward's voice wasn't as ferocious as he had planned for it to be. He looked away again and began staring at a point on the wall ahead.

Mustang now noticed the large bruise forming on his subordinate's left cheek. His doing. He flinched seeing the bright red color of it, because it seemed he had hit Edward pretty hard.

A deep sigh then left Edward's throat and he slumped together a bit on the bed. "I'm sorry."

"Eh?" Edward's voice had pulled Mustang out of his staring. "What are you sorry for?"

"It's probably the Morphium they gave me, but I apologize for what I said. It went _too_ far." Noticing the smug smile form again, he scowled at the Colonel. "You're still a useless bastard anyway."

For a little moment, Mustang hesitated, having to ponder carefully what to say next. "I apologize too. For hitting you. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay. It was necessary so I would get my memories back at least a little."

"You think so?" It still felt wrong to the Flame Alchemist. Hitting his own subordinate seemed like something unthinkable. "What did you remember?" He could instantly see the fear and disgust displayed in Edward's amber eyes at the memory. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

The teen seemed to ponder it for a while and nodded. "It… It wasn't that much. I just… remembered a voice and how he…" Another tear fell from his eyes and the teen hastily wiped it away. But more tears fell. "I'm so pathetic, crying over something like this." A small shaky laugh left his mouth. "And it won't stop." The tears slid down all the way from his eyes, over his cheeks, to his chin, where they either fell on his knees, or slid down his jawline and neck. He inched his knees closer to his chest and kept rubbing at his eyes, but the tears didn't stop flowing. No sob left him though, only miserable sniffs.

Mustang sighed at the sight of his subordinate. "Fullmetal." He approached the bed slowly and pulled a nearby chair with him. He placed that chair at the edge of the bed and sat down on it, looking up at the silently crying teen on the bed. He raised one hand, but didn't know what to do with it. In the end, he decided to place it on Edward's back, as he had seen Hughes' doing it before. He started to stroke up and down, hoping it would soothe the blonde.

Sniffing, Edward averted his eyes to the Colonel and eyed him with a calculating look. "Colonel?"

"What's the matter?" Mustang had noticed the slightly unsure tone that one questioning word was lined with.

"C-Can I… Can you…" Edward looked away again, thinking about how he should ask. Looking back into those onyx eyes again, he raised his left arm and gripped the material of Mustang's upper sleeve. He shot a pleading look at the Flame Alchemist.

A moment passed in which Mustang only blinked, but then realised what the teen wanted. He raised himself from his chair and, after Edward had moved aside a little, sat himself on the bed's edge. The teen just looked at him with an insecure and nervous expression and in response, the older male placed his right hand on the teen's head and ruffled the hair playfully. He earned a scowl, then a shaky smile and watched as Edward inched closer to him, until his face was resting in Mustang's shoulder. He could feel the blonde's hands gripping the sides of his jacket and heard another sniff. "Don't cry too much, Fullmetal, or you'll get snot all over my uniform. Hawkeye will scold me again because I already got my uniform all dirty yesterday. She was furious."

Edward chuckled a little and relaxed as he felt the Colonel's warm arms wrapping around him. He smiled into the warm shoulder and released a content sigh.

_I'm getting over this._

* * *

The next morning, Alphonse was the one watching over Edward. Hughes had left Mustang alone again, shortly after the younger Elric had arrived. The man had a wife and a child after all. But he hadn't left without holding out a picture of his _Elicia-chan_ to Edward, convinced that the mere cuteness of his daughter would heal away all injuries. After he had left, Mustang had stayed until eight in the evening when he finished his paperwork and then went home himself. Since Alphonse didn't need sleep, he had been the one watching over his brother all night.

It was nine in the morning and Edward was still sleeping. Mustang had said he would come over around nine or so, so it was time for him to appear soon. Hughes was planning to come sometime during midday and the others were all planning to come together in the evening.

Alphonse was currently reading a book about alchemy – what else – when the hospital door opened and Mustang stepped in together with Dr. Walker.

"Good morning, Alphonse-kun," the doctor greeted the armor. "Did anything unusual happen while you were watching over your brother?"

"He was just sleeping, nothing else. Should I wake him up?"

"That's not necessary. Let him sleep, he needs his rest to heal. What I'm going to tell you is something you can tell him after he wakes up."

Mustang tensed up a little. "Is there something wrong with him, Sir?"

"Nothing like that, don't worry." The doctor waved at the Colonel. "I just wanted to inform you that Edward-kun now should be in a state where he can be moved to Headquarters' hospital wing. I think it would be the best for him, since we are a little overwhelmed here by all the injured soldiers coming in. He would get better care in Headquarters. When he wakes up I'm going to check him over and make sure he's really all right to be moved."

Mustang heaved a released sigh at those words. "Thank you for all you have done for us, Dr. Walker. I'm sure I will be able repay you by doing something about the missing doctors and nurses."

"That would be really helpful," the doctor replied chuckling, albeit with a sad tone. "But there's no need to repay me. This is my job after all and as long as Edward-kun gets well again, then that's repayment enough for me."

As soon as the doctor had finished, a small groan sounded from the bed. Immediately, Alphonse was at his shaking brother's side and watched as Edward's eyes snapped open with a little gasp.

"Nii-san, did you have another nightmare?" Alphonse inquired worriedly, leaning over his older brother.

The older Elric glanced over at the watching Mustang, but only received a stern frown. Looking back at his worried brother again, he nodded hesitantly.

"Good morning, Edward-kun." Dr. Walker walked over to the two boys. "How are you feeling today?"

Edward sat up carefully and stretched both his flesh and his automail arm and tested them a little. "Well, right now I'm feeling okay, I guess. My back still hurts and I just have a little headache and I'm also feeling a little dizzy."

"That's normal," the doctor replied. "So did you remember anything?"

The teen simply nodded and let his head drop a little.

"That's good. That means your memory loss is only temporary after all. Your memories will come back to you bit by bit. I'll give you some more pain killers and antibiotica, then you can be moved to Headquarter's hospital wing."

"Really? That's great!" Edward's expression lit up immediately at the news.

"I'll go get you the pills and you can prepare to leave." The kind doctor flashed the three another warm smile and then left the room.

Even Mustang couldn't resist and smiled. "I guess you're making progress very fast, Fullmetal."

"Yeah, something like this can't bring me down," the blonde replied, grinning widely.

A smug smile made it's way to the Colonel's face as he turned away a bit. "That would be impossible anyway. You're so far down already."

"Who are you calling so short that he would drown in a falling raindrop?"

"Inflammable as always, Fullmetal."

* * *

Okay, so what do you think? Was it in-character or did I mess them up, I wonder. Next chapter will be up on Monday… if I can manage without getting my hands bitten off by Mr. Benz, my evil plot bunny.

–Murasaki


	4. Searching For Verity

Here's the next chapter! I'm glad I was able to finish this on time. 'M tired now…

By the way: I received an e-mail from a writing community called _The Muse Bunny_. Does anyone know about it? Is it bullshit?

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter IV  
– Searching For Verity –

One week passed in which Edward Elric was moved to Headquarters' hospital wing. His recovery was progressing well and some of his memories returned. On the eight day, Edward was allowed to finally leave the bed, but was told not to overexert himself. The pills Dr. Walker had given to him were very helpful in numbing his pain and the antibiotics prevented infections from forming. Also, Mustang had shown his gratitude by keeping his promise and using his connections, organizing three doctors and six nurses for the hospital Edward had been treated in.

While Edward had been in hospital, the Fullmetal Alchemist's case had been reported to Amestris' court-martial. Mustang and Hughes were the ones who had been assigned the responsibility to investigate it, since they were the ones most common with the case. The past three days, they had been investigating and working in order to find out who had raped the Fullmetal Alchemist. They were planning to ask Edward about what he remembered as soon as he seemed able to handle it. Right now, they were together in Mustang's room, discussing the whole incident.

"We do have several suspects," Mustang stated, the stern look in his jet-black eyes in place.

The other man nodded and looked down at the list in his hands. "The retired State Alchemist Michael Reed, which Edward and Alphonse were supposed to investigate, four of the thirty-five Cretan soldiers that attacked them and the State Alchemist Lieutenant Colonel Draigen Jackson."

Mustang's onyx eyes narrowed. "I would say Jackson is the most suspicious one. He was the last one to be with Fullmetal, if we believe his testimony. Jackson also took a day off and didn't give any reason. He's definitely the one most likely to be the culprit."

"But even if he was the culprit, it will be hard to prove it. The only evidence we can hope for is Ed's testimony and then it will be his word against Jackson's. And since Jackson's the one higher ranked above Ed, it's likely that he's going to be the one believed more. We would need a confession."

"Maybe if we confront him with what he did and push him a little, then he might accidently spill something that proves his crime."

Hughes cocked an eyebrow at his friend, wondering about that strategy. "So you're planning to confront Jackson head-on, just like that?"

"What else can we do? We aren't even sure if Fullmetal will regain enough memories to tell who the culprit is. We can't only rely on his testimony. We need real, solid evidence."

"You're right. Then are you simply going to walk up to Jackson and say _Hey, I'm pretty sure you raped one of my subordinates, now go on and confess, so you can be punished_?"

"You know that I won't do that, Hughes," the other dead-panned as he lazily rested his head in one hand.

"Yeah, but it's still fun to imagine." The spectacled man shot his friend a grin and received a small chuckle in response.

"I think we should ask Fullmetal if he remembers anything to make sure that Jackson really is the culprit." Suddenly, something blocked Mustang's view of the documents on his table.

"Doesn't that just make you wanna eat her?" Hughes was holding a picture of his daughter in front of the Colonel's face. _Again_. "My little Elicia-chan started to draw with the crayons I bought her last Christmas. Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen?" The _grown _man was now half lying on Mustang's desk in an attempt to present his pictures better.

"Hughes." Mustang sighed irritatedly, a vein beginning to lightly throb ob his forehead. "Yeah, your daughter is cute, so can you get off my–"

"If you think she's cute on this picture then look at her in this–"

"Hughes." The Flame Alchemist's tone was low and threatening and his left brow was twitching in annoyance.

The other man though didn't notice his friend's twitching hand, which was about to grab one of the Spark Cloth Gloves Mustang used to create his trade-mark flames.

Hughes soon flinched back at sensing the danger approaching and kept babbling stuff about his adorable daughter, while Mustang continued his paperwork.

* * *

"Are you really all right, Nii-san?" Alphonse asked his brother worriedly. "It happened only a few days ago. Are you sure you want to go on a mission?"

"I'm bored, Al. I've been in that one room the whole week and this is the first time I can actually walk _around_ without some nurse watching over me the whole time and some psychologist-guy asking me how I feel the whole day. Man, I'm glad I have that annoying guy off my back."

The younger Elric laughed a little at his brother's ranting. "But you're still recovering and I don't think you should go on a mission yet."

"Don't worry, Al. As long as it's nothing where I have to fight, it's fine."

The two brothers then reached their destination: Colonel Roy Mustang's office. After knocking, Edward opened the wooden door and a loud creak echoed as they entered the wide room.

Mustang looked up from his documents and was faced with the Elric brothers approaching him. While Alphonse stopped behind the couch in front of the desk, Edward simply let himself fall onto the soft cushions, making himself comfortable with a grunt. "I'm bored. Can I have a mission?"

Cocking an eyebrow in doubt, Roy glared at the teen before him. "Have you healed already, Fullmetal?"

"I can handle a mission as long as it doesn't contain any hard fighting. Something to investigate would be nice."

"The last time you were supposed to investigate something, you got violated. And because of you, Hughes and I have even more paperwork to do and have to investigate your case."

"Don't complain about your work, Colonel Bastard." Edward's voice was mocking, as he glared at the Colonel. "You're a Colonel, so doing paperwork is your job anyway. Now, do you have a mission for me or not?"

"Even if I had a mission, I wouldn't give it to you, Fullmetal. I don't believe that you recovered from _all _your injuries after only a week. But you could help me with something if you feel all right." The man had both his arms on the desk and his folded hands placed under his chin.

Edward had been glaring at the Colonel while he had been talking, but at the mentioning of his help being requested, his face gained a curious expression. "_You're_ asking _me_ for help? Well, that's new." He watched the older male continuing to look at him expectantly. "What do you need me for?"

"I'm going to be straight forward and just ask you: What else did you remember from the attack during the last days?"

The teen's expression dropped a little, but he was able to hold back a pained flinch. "Not much. I remember a rough voice, the smell of soil, something holding me down, darkness, pain, helplessness… and the feeling of breaking from the inside. It all feels so awkward. I know what happened, I know that I was the victim, but it's feels as if it didn't happen to me, but to someone else. As if I have another person's memories."

"I see." Dark onyx eyes observed the blonde as he shifted uncomfortably in the soft cushions of the couch. "That might help. Do you think you could identify the culprit by seeing his face or hearing his voice?"

"I could. I think." Insecurity and fear lined the exhausted teen's features. He wanted to know who had done this to him, but with only fragments of his memory from the event it was hard to find out.

"Good. But if you think you're not ready for this, then I can wait. I don't want to push you. This is really serious."

"I know how serious this is. I experienced it first hand after all. And I _want _to do this. I want to see the one who did this to me being rightfully punished."

The older man nodded and looked down at his scattered documents for a moment. "Then I'll be showing you photographs of the suspects. You'll tell me if you remember one of them doing anything inappropriate to you. If we can't identify the culprit that way, we can also let you hear the voices of the suspects." The Colonel rummaged through countless stacks of paper and after a while, mysteriously pulled some documents out of one huge pile. "These are the suspects' photographs. Are you sure you want to do this, Fullmetal?"

"Just show me the damn pictures," the blonde retorted.

Soon, the first picture was sprawled on the desk. It was a picture of Michael Reed, the retired State Alchemist.

"Michael Reed is the retired State Alchemist you and Alphonse were supposed to investigate. Because of his old age, he has been released from military six years ago. Have you ever seen him in person before?" Mustang asked the teen formally.

Edward shook his head in denial after a moment of eyeing the picture. "No. Al and I never got a chance to meet him in person and we only heard some rumors about him."

"Does he seem familiar in any way?"

Again, the blonde shook his head.

Mustang then pulled the next picture out of a folder and showed it to his subordinate. "This is Angus Chamberlain. He's one of the Cretan soldiers that attacked you and also was one of those being stationed near the crime scene. Do you remember him?"

"Hm…" Some seconds passed in which Edward looked at the picture, one hand propped under his chin. "If I imagine him crying and with a broken nose, then I think he's the one I kicked in the face, but I don't remember him doing anything to me. Other than attacking me, of course."

Mustang just nodded and showed the pictures of the other three Cretan soldiers at a time, but always got a similar result. Though one of them, the thirty-nine-year-old Brian O'Farrel, had seemed familiar to Edward. His reddish-blond hair and stubble had flicked something in the teen's mind. It appeared that the man was from a Cretan island, also called _The Green Island_, and had been in the military for about nine years. Jotting something down into his notes, Mustang put the picture of said man away again, pulling the last one from his folder. "You should remember him," he murmured with both his expression and tone unreadable. "Lieutenant Colonel Draigen Jackson. He came to Amestris in his youth, met his wife Laura Jackson and married her. His last name was _Moore_ before his marriage. Does he seem familiar to you?"

Seeing the photograph of the still young man, Edward noticed something. "He looks like O'Farrel."

It was true. Apparently, the two Cretan men originally were born on the same Cretan island, so it wasn't surprising that the color of their hair was similar. Though Jackson's hair was more of a red tone, while O'Farrel's hair had a more blond color.

Again, the appearance of the man let chills crawl up Edward's spine, the feeling of darkness and helplessness returning. "He seems familiar too," he mumbled with a frown.

"So O'Farrel and Jackson are the ones most likely to have violated you?"

With a nod the Fullmetal Alchemist continued, beginning to feel as if his throat was too constricted to produce words. "Yeah. Though I would have to compare their voices to be sure if one of them is… the culprit."

"Good, I think that's enough for now. If you want, then we can continue this after I signed some documents."

"Okay. I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Then come again in about four hours."

Without uttering any other words, Edward simply got up and headed for the door, while Alphonse bowed to the Colonel and said his thank-you.

Immediately after the Elric brothers had left his office, Mustang grabbed his desk's phone and dialed Hughes' number. Only one beep was heard until someone answered.

_"Hughes,"_ a cheerful voice sounded through the phone.

"It's me. We have a new lead."

* * *

Eep, it's short, it's short! It's at least 1000 words shorter then the other chapters! Did anyone other than me notice that the past three chapters all almost had exactly 3600 words? I think that's funny.

If I can manage then the next chapter will be up on Thursday.

Special thanks to **Renkin-tan**,** Anie-chan**, **Shadow-kun** and **the-ice-cold-alchemist** for always reviewing. I love you guys! You always make my day with your reviews. Hab' euch ganz doll lieb. They're also the only ones who are reviewing every new chapter… *laughs nervously*

–Murasaki


	5. Revelation of Truth

Gah, I finished! I think my brain's dying!

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter V  
– Revelation of Truth –

During his two hours of paperwork, Mustang had let Hughes arrange everything for the _tes_t in which the voices of O'Farrel and Jackson would be compared, so Edward could find the real culprit – if it really had been one of the two suspected men to violate the teen. They were planning to hide Edward in a place where he would hear everything, but wouldn't be seen from anyone. Letting Jackson come – a part of the Amestrian military – was no big deal, but since O'Farrel was part of the enemy's army, getting him into Mustang's office would be a little harder. Under the pretext of wanting to question him on the attack of Edward Elric, who had been attacked by him either way, they asked O'Farrel to come to Central. Fortunately, the Cretan was reasonable enough and had agreed to come meet Mustang together with some of his companions to escort him – only to be sure, of course. That way, the questioning that would have been held anyway would be combined with a test, where Edward could find the culprit by comparing voices.

Everything was prepared: O'Farrel and Jackson were both present and Edward would only have to make a door to enter the gap between Mustang's office and another room, get in and then close it up from inside again with alchemy. That gap contained wires and such and someone taller or wider then Edward would have barely fit in. The wall between the office and the small gap was very thin, so the Fullmetal Alchemist would understand any word spoken clearly.

Mustang was a little nervous, considering that the person who had violated Edward _could_ be soon right in front of him. It just made him edgy. He was staring at the heavy, wooden door of his office, waiting for Edward to finally step in. He _almost_ had called Hawkeye to ask her to get the Fullmetal Alchemist into his office already. The teen was ten minutes late after all and O'Farrel was coming any moment. Mustang was about to reach for his telephone, when the door finally opened and Edward stepped in with a slightly sheepish look.

"You're late, Fullmetal."

"Well, I won't apologize, useless Colonel Bastard. Is everything prepared?"

The man nodded, motioning towards a wall to his right. "You just have to stand behind the wall. The gap is small, but you should fit in."

"Who are you calling so small he could build a penthouse suite in a hydrogen atom?" the blonde immediately screeched indignantly.

"Just get in behind the wall, Fullmetal. O'Farrel is about to come."

As if on cue, steps sounded from the corridor, approaching the office. Immediately, Edward clapped his hands together and pressed his palms onto the wall beside him. After transmuting a small door with a huge skull on it, he grabbed the handle, attempting to open the door, but was interrupted by Mustang.

"You really have no taste," the man whispered, chuckling at his subordinate.

"I think it looks cool," the other hissed in a low voice.

"Just get in, Fullmetal."

Obediently the Fullmetal Alchemist opened the door and pressed himself into the small gap, then closed the door behind him again. Blue light came from the alchemical reaction behind the door as Edward transmuted the door into a part of the wall again.

Just as the blue light faded, a knock was heard and Mustang raised himself from his seat, standing up and beckoning in whoever was there. As soon as was standing in front of his own desk, he was faced with a honey-blond-haired man and three other men behind him – most likely his escorts. Hughes was standing beside them, while some other Amestrian soldiers, who had escorted him, left.

"Brian O'Farrel?" Mustang questioned with a slight raise of a brow.

The other man nodded in confirmation, his expression tense and wary. "You were the one who asked me here for the questioning, Colonel Roy Mustang?"

The Colonel stepped forward a little to shake the man's hand, who only regrettably went with it. "Yes. I am glad that you were so reasonable to actually come here. Other Cretans would have simply declined, regarding the border wars between our countries."

While Mustang seated himself behind his desk again, Hughes stood beside him and O'Farrel sat himself on the coach in front of the desk, his escorts next to him.

"You seem fearless, letting the enemy into your office with only one person beside you," O'Farrel mused, somewhat amused.

"This way I show my trust that you will cooperate with us in this matter," Mustang replied calmly, turning a bit in his chair. "This is something that has nothing to do with the border wars themselves, but otherwise could be indirectly linked to them. I just want to question you and find out what really happened to my subordinate."

The conversation then was continued with Mustang and Hughes asking the Cretan man about where he had been at the time of the incident, what relation he had with Edward Elric and if he held a grudge against the Fullmetal Alchemist. To all questions, the man had a fitting answer. Sometimes, he hesitated a little before answering and seemed suspicious about the intentions behind the questions, appearing to fear he might spill something important regarding the border wars.

All in all, the questioning went without any unusual events, while Edward listened.

After about twenty-five minutes, all questions had been asked and all answers had been given. Mustang and Hughes said their good-byes and the Cretans left the office. As soon as the door had closed and the sound of departing steps was ceasing, blue light came from the wall, announcing Edward creating and opening the door again. He stepped outside seeming calm and faced the two raven-haired men with a straight face.

"It's not him," he stated matter-of-factly. "There's no mistake: It's _definitely_ not him."

Mustang narrowed his eyes in growing contempt. "Then it must be Jackson. Are you ready, Fullmetal? Jackson is about to come. Are you sure you can handle standing in that gap for so long again? The oxygen in there–"

"I can handle it," Edward interrupted the Colonel calmly. "How else would we be able to find out who did… _it_."

Glancing over to his friend Hughes, who looked back at him with a questioning look, Mustang sighed. Averting his gaze to his subordinate again, his voice was firm as he answered. "Then let's find the real culprit."

After ten minutes of waiting, another knock sounded through the office and as Mustang opened, Jackson stood before him. While he greeted the man and allowed him to step in, Hughes stood beside the desk, saluting, and Edward was listening from his position in the gap again. Again, Mustang sat himself behind his desk, whereas Jackson sat on the couch in front of the desk. But soon after the blond man had sat down, he looked down at his pocket watch and noticed something. "Oh dear, it's time for my tea."

"Should I let someone bring a cup?" Mustang inquired politely, his face straight and free of the ferocious thoughts spinning in his mind.

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be great indeed, Sir." Jackson was smiling at the Colonel, his superior.

To Hughes, the man seemed like someone nice and also loyal. He didn't seem suspicious about everything they did and questioned their intentions wherever he could, unlike O'Farrel. Why should he anyway? He was part of the Amestrian military after all, so there was no reason to be distrustful. Right?

Mustang had called Hawkeye and asked her to bring some tea. Soon, the blond Lieutenant delivered a teapot and tea cups, pouring them the steaming brew. Edward listened to every word said and somehow an eery feeling nagged at him at hearing the Lieutenant Colonel's voice.

The Black Thorn Alchemist took one sip of the steaming liquid and sighed in content. After lowering the cup again, another sigh left his mouth. "This tea is delicious. So lovely."

Amber eyes widened in shock. Memories flashed through Edward's mind.

_"Dammit! We got separated." Edward attempted to go after his brother and to simply break down the wall separating them, but was stopped by Jackson._

_"It's no use going after them this way. By the time we get past the wall they will be gone. Follow me this way."_

_The two alchemists ran down alleys and dark streets, the younger one following the older._

_After a while, they found themselves in a secluded and a darker part of the city._

_"Jackson-san, I think we're lost." Edward was walking around a little, Jackson right behind him. "We should go back and–" Suddenly, there were plants gripping his limps, making him unable to move. "What the hell?" He looked back at Jackson, who was grinning at him, and was pulled into one of the abandoned houses by the plants._

The memories forced a sharp intake of air from the Fullmetal Alchemist.

_"So lovely," the man's dark voice whispered huskily into Edward's ear._

More and more flashed with unbelievable fast speed through the quietly panting teen's mind.

_A satisfied sigh left the man as he looked down at his victim. "So lovely," he murmured._

Shaking and clamping a hand over his mouth Edward tried to suppress a scream.

_"So lovely," he murmured again after pulling away._

The teen couldn't hold back and released a quiet gasp, a tear rolling down his cheek.

Something seemed to have caught Jackson's attention "What was that?"

"What do you mean?" Of course, Mustang had heard the noises Edward was making, but tried to cover it up by pretending to not have heard anything. Hughes was coughing loudly to somehow cover up the sound.

"I'm sure I heard something. I think it came from behind that wall." Jackson was eyeing Mustang, searching for a sign that he was lying. Finding something like that on the Colonel was, of course, nearly impossible. "Must have been some rats." He shot another smile at the Colonel.

The questioning was then continued, Mustang asking questions, Hughes backing him up and Jackson giving answers. It took them about twenty minutes, before Jackson left after looking back suspiciously at the wall behind which Edward was hiding. After the man had left, Mustang and Hughes waited for Edward to come out and tell them what he thought about Jackson.

But he never came.

Some moments passed, until the two men glanced at each other worriedly and then walked over to the wall behind which Edward should be hiding. They heard whimpering coming from behind the thin wall.

"Fullmetal, come out," Mustang tried, but received no response.

Hughes released a sympathetic sigh then. "You have to come out, Ed. Come on, let us help you."

They waited for a while, until they heard clapping and noticed blue light. Soon there was the door again, but nobody opened up. Mustang grabbed the handle, turned it and revealed the Fullmetal Alchemist.

The teen was sitting on the gap's floor, hugging his knees tightly, his whole body shaking. With tear-filled and red eyes he looked up at the two men and a sob left him.

"Fullmetal… come here." Remembering the day Edward had been like that before and the way the had soothed him, Mustang knelt down and reached out for his subordinate.

Edward only hesitated a little and crawled forward into the arms of his superior, sobbing into his chest. He grabbed the material of the Colonel's jacket tightly and trembled in shock. "I-It's him. He… did it."

Mustang wrapped his arms around his subordinate and after Hughes had knelt down beside the teen as well, the spectacled man stroked the teen's back. "We will get him, I promise."

* * *

Mustang and Hughes had managed to calm Edward down again and had let the teen rest on the couch in Colonel's office. Both had left said office, leaving the Fullmetal Alchemist alone for a while. They were sure that no one could do something to Edward there, since the only entrance was the door, in front of which all of Mustang's subordinates sat. So Mustang and Hughes left, in order to report everything they had found out about the Edward's case to the martial-court.

Edward was currently sleeping, plagued by a _small_ nightmare once again that fortunately wasn't as bad as the previous ones. He soon woke up to a weird creaking noise. The fog of sleep only left him slowly and he didn't hear the other noises, until suddenly he noticed something towering over him.

With a jolt he sat up and looked straight into the smiling face of Draigen Jackson.

"You're so lovely when you're asleep, Edo-kun." The man licked his lips as he looked the teen up and down.

"Wh-What do you want? How did you get in?" the Fullmetal Alchemist asked, his voice lined with fear.

"Not much. It's just something I want to talk to you about. As to how I got in: I think I can tell you that, since you're my little Edo-kun after all. It's pretty simple, you know. I can control plants, so I used vines to get to the window from the floor below this one. Then I let one of my plants snake threw a gap in the window into this room and open the window up from inside. That's how I got in." Jackson grabbed one wrist of the teen.

Edward tried to pull away and clap his hands together, but soon found his automail arm and his legs gripped by plants, while his flesh hand was being held tightly by the older Alchemist.

Jackson pulled down a red sleeve, exposing the fading bruises on the Fullmetal Alchemist's flesh arm's skin. "Shoot, they turned all yellow. Think I have to put some new bruises on that beautiful skin of yours." The plants wrapped themselves more forcefully around Edward's limbs, causing him to gasp. "Just listen to me. You see, I know that you've lost some of your memories, but don't think I'll lose interest in you so easily. Anyway, I knew it was only a matter of time until you would regain your memories again, so I decided to make a deal with you. Seeing how Colonel Mustang asked me to come here for questioning, I know I'll be found out soon. Now I'm offering you a deal."

Edward shot the man his most furious and venomous glare. "As if I make deals with sick, perverted bastards like you!"

"Even if I tell you that I know of your little secret?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, you retarded pervert!"

"You and your brother broke the taboo." Seeing the shock crossing the teen's face, the man only grinned wider, his smooth voice sounding again. "Your automail limbs, your brother's armor and hollow voice. It's not that hard to find out if one knows some things about human transmutation. But you know… I won't tell anyone. As long as you do as I say." Jackson started to twirl one of Edward's golden locks in his sweaty fingers, enjoying the sheer shock in those golden eyes.

"I won't–"

"Do you want to be thrown out of military and your brother being taken away from you for experiments? You are here for a reason aren't you? Something like… getting privileges in order to… maybe get your bodies back. Yeah, that should be it. So if you cooperate, no one will ever find out."

Edward, for a while, tried to find a way out of this situation, but couldn't think of anything. "I… I get it."

"Good boy. If only you were always so obedient."

The deal then was sealed by Jackson forcing wet lips onto Edward's soft ones.

* * *

Somehow I don't like the way I wrote some parts. I kinda feel like this is totally screwed up.

So, I think the next chapter will take a little longer. I might upload the next chapter in four days instead of three. After all, I need a break too and I still have to learn for my Latin test tomorrow… Mea praeceptrix vetula est! *pouts* Again: I'm really grateful to **Ren-chan**, **Anie-chan**, **the-ice-cold-alchemist** and **brz **for always reviewing. Ihr seid die Besten!

Yeah, I love to throw around random foreign words. Well, foreign to most of my readers, not me.

–Murasaki


	6. Fight or Flight?

*bangs head onto MacBook* I'm stupid, I'm stupid, I'm stupid, I'm stupid… Gaaaah! I somehow mixed up Chapter 4 with one of my D.G-M chapters! Dammit! I'm so sorry to everyone who wanted to read Chapter 4, but couldn't because of my huge stupidness. I already fixed that a few days ago, but I still feel extremely stupid.

Warning: This chapter contains adult themes.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter VI  
– Fight or Flight? –

"Now we only have to find Jackson and have him arrested."

"That seems to make you really excited, huh, Roy?" Hughes replied with a large smile splayed across his face.

Mustang answered with a small smile of his own. "Why shouldn't it?"

The two men were returning from the martial-court after revealing what they had found out.

The State Alchemist Lieutenant Colonel Draigen Jackson, also known as the _Black Thorn Alchemist_, had injured and raped the State Alchemist Major Edward Elric, also known as the _Fullmetal Alchemist_. That they were sure of now. The order to arrest Draigen Jackson had been given, but as soldiers had arrived at said man's office, he had been nowhere to be found. Apparently, the man was on the run from the military. He seemed to just have disappeared, even though he had been in Colonel Mustang's office only hours ago. So of course both, Mustang and Hughes, were anxious about knowing if Edward was all right. They had left him alone in Mustang's office, but Hawkeye and the others should have been guarding the entrance to it. It was impossible to get into the office through the door. But soon they realized that every State Alchemist was able to simply _make _himself an entrance if necessary.

After running down the corridor, the men arrived at the Colonel's office and were faced with Mustang's subordinates looking at their troubled superior with questioning looks.

"Did someone come here or did any noises come from my office?" Mustang demanded to know.

Everyone shook their head in denial and Hawkeye shot the Colonel an inquiring look. "There was nothing besides Edward mumbling a while ago. We assumed he was dreaming again. Did something happen, Sir?"

Mustang shook his head and together with Hughes he stormed over to his office's door and forcefully opened it. He could see his subordinate's golden hair peeking out from behind the couch. They marched over to said couch and eyed the teen with probing gazes, taking in the teen's shaken up appearance.

"Ed, did something happen?" the green-eyed man asked worriedly.

The two men watched Edward mull something over for a while, before hesitantly answering.

"N-Nothing… I just… just had a nightmare. Nothing happened at all." More probing glares were shot at the Fullmetal Alchemist, but he didn't even consider telling them about what had really happened.

* * *

The next day, Edward came to Mustang's office as always. He was greeted by the raven-haired man with a doubtful glare, before the man spoke up.

"It's about time you came here, Fullmetal. I guess your legs are just too short to allow you to go in a fast pace."

"Who are you calling so small that even the munchkins laugh and call him a freak?"

Mustang simply ignored the outburst. "Have you heard about Jackson?"

Edward huffed, before gaining a serious expression again. "He was ordered to be arrested."

"Exactly. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

"Told you: I don't know where that perverted bastard went. Why should _I _know where he could be anyway? I haven't seen him since…" The blonde trailed off, expression darkening in an instant.

"Then at least promise me to stay here in Headquarters until he's arrested. Actually, it would be better if you just stayed in my office, where the Second Lieutenant can watch over you."

"You want me to stay in your office until he's arrested?" the teen repeated incredulously. "Who the hell knows how long it will take to find that fucking bastard? I won't just sit here and wait!"

"It's only for your best, Fullmetal. Understand that I don't want you running around on some mission, while Jackson is on the loose."

The teen went silent, knowing that Jackson's sneaky methods were hard to handle. "All right, I get it. Just catch that guy quickly so we can get this over with."

"I'm glad you're so agreeable for once."

"See it as my thank-you for… helping me." The teen avoided to meet the Colonel's smirking features. Daring to glance at his superior, he caught the smug expression on the man's face. "Don't get all cocky! You're still a bastard," he added heatedly.

Instead of his features faltering, Mustang only smirked even wider. "You know, I have to go and take care of Jackson myself. As long as you stay in my office, you should be safe." Without any other words the Colonel stood up and left the office, leaving his subordinate behind in his office.

"Guess I'll have to wait here," Edward mumbled. "Wait, what should I actually do? Jeez, I should have at least asked for some books to read." Walking back to the office's door, he went outside to meet Havoc. "Havoc, where's everyone else?" Just now he noticed that him and the other blonde were the only ones in the room.

"They're all out helping the Colonel to catch Jackson."

"I see. Could you do me a favor?" He only continued when the man shrugged. "The Colonel told me to stay here, but I have no idea what I should do. Would you mind getting me some books? Anything on alchemy would be fine."

Havoc glared at him with a frown. "I was specifically told not to leave."

"Come on! The library is just around the corner. If anyone comes in, I can transmute something to give you a signal and you'll know I'm in danger. I'm also capable of protecting myself anyway."

"I can't leave. I was strictly ordered not to go."

"Then escort me to the library," the teen pleaded.

"No."

"Get some people to escort me."

"No."

"Come on! I'm bored out of my mind!"

Finally, an exasperated sigh left the man and he shot the teen a warning look. "Lock yourself in the Colonel's office, don't let anyone in who doesn't know the password. You remember the password for cases like this, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Good. And don't even think about leaving." Casting a last warning glare at his superior, Havoc headed for the library and left the office.

Feeling relieved to soon have some entertainment, Edward went back to the Colonel's office and locked the door obediently. He flopped down onto the couch and looked out of the large window. The window through which Jackson had come in.

"Bastard. Coming through the window like that. Can't he use a door like every other normal criminal would?" His gaze fixed onto the glass of the window and he searched for any signs of someone being outside. A few minutes passed, but he didn't notice anything. "That guy sure takes his time," he muttered after sixteen minutes. "It doesn't take that long to pick up some alchemy books." The teen glanced back at the door, hoping the blond man would soon come. Uncertainty started to crawl up his spine. Uneasiness nagged at his nerves and amassing fear clawed at his guts. Tightly he wrapped his arms around himself, clenching the material of his upper sleeves in his own shaking hands. His breaths left his body in pants and everything seemed to become darker and more dangerous.

Suddenly, a clicking sound indicated that someone was unlocking the door. The following creak, caused by the wooden door being pushed open, lifted the fear from Edward's panicked mind and he raised himself from his position on the couch. A relieved smile was plastered on his face as he turned around to face Havoc.

Only… it wasn't Havoc.

Delighted chuckles left the man as he stood in the room, while closing the door behind him, locking it. The room's key placed in his pocket, he shot a satisfied grin at his pray. "Long time no see, my lovely Edo-kun."

Fear paralyzed him, as Edward tried to move, run, or at least scream for help, but his shock-blanked brain didn't respond to his request. With every step Jackson made towards him, the terror turmoiling in the teen's slightly shaking body increased. As the older alchemist was a mere metre away from him, his brain finally allowed the blonde's body to move back, to step away. But his attempts would be staying futile.

After only three more steps, Jackson had backed Edward completely against the wall. With a flick of his wrist, vines wrapped themselves around the seemingly tranquilized teen's legs, immobilizing him.

Edward brought both his hands up to clap, but suddenly they were held by Jackson in a death grip and were pinned beside his head on the wall. He growled at the Cretan, fierce lying in his gaze.

"Are we playing this game again, huh?" the blonde spat, betraying his obvious fear. "You bastard! Can't you do anything else other than holding me down? In a serious fight you probably wouldn't even–" Suddenly, there were wet lips pressed on his own, silencing Edward.

Jackson bit down on the teen's bottom lip, earning a pained intake of air, and using the opportunity to slip his slick tongue into the boy's mouth. He literally mapped the insides of Edward's mouth with the slender muscle, ran over every centimetre of warm, wet skin he could reach. Pulling his mouth away from the sweet cavern after a while, he released a groan and trailed with his lips down to Edward's jawline and soon reached the sweat-slicked neck.

"Let go of me, you sick bastard!" the Fullmetal Alchemist yelled furiously. "I'll kick your fucking ass!"

"Didn't we go through this already? And don't forget our little deal." Jackson then released Edward's wrists, only to immediately after let them be replaced by new vines, gripping the teen's arms. He let his sweaty hands travel over the young teen's clothed chest, until he slowly popped open the first buttons of the black shirt with one hand and with the other traveled lower and lower. Soon his left hand reached Edward's groin and he grabbed it, earning a surprised gasp from the teen. Again, he attacked the boy's mouth, while fumbling open button for button and massaging Edward's crotch. With a smug grin he soon after released the teen's mouth again and eyed the flushed form before him. "My, you're so silent, Edo-kun."

Panting and scowling at the man grabbing him, Edward tried to catch his hitched breathing. "Don't fuck with me. I have no desire to talk to some sick bastard like you." With a venomous glare, he spat the man square in the face.

The smug expression not faltering for even one second, Jackson wiped away the spit from his face with his sleeve. "But Edo-chan… I want to fuck you so bad. I want to fuck you senseless, until you're not able to walk straight.

A yelp of surprise left Edward at those words and he felt the man's body pushing against him. Something hard was pressing against his thigh, but the teen was trying to ignore the man's rock-hard erection.

Jackson on the other hand gripped his victim's hips and shoved him farther up the wall, grinding his own hips against the teen's crotch, his hand now inside of the Fullmetal Alchemist's pants. He had finally managed to open the shirt hiding Edward's skin from him. Seeing the exposed sun-kissed skin, he released the boy's mouth and instead attacked a nipple. He ran his wet tongue over the bud, nipped at it, grazed his teeth over it. After pulling back, he took in the disgusted and flushed face of his victim and attacked the kiss-swollen lips again.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, but of course received no answer. Jackson was groaning into the kiss, barely recognizing the sound of someone knocking.

Instead of silence, the room suddenly was filled with a blast. The door was being devoured in angry, red flames.

Mustang stood in the smoking frame, eyeing the older State Alchemist angrily. "Let go of my subordinate this instance," he hissed through gritted teeth and with a furious look.

And even though Edward knew that the Colonel had come to help him, he felt intimidated by the madly furious look on his superior's face. The next moment he felt a sweaty hand stroking his length again.

Jackson chuckled, ignoring the fact that he had been discovered. "He's mine," he growled, almost hissed possessively.

In response, the Colonel's features darkened even more and he raised his right hand, ready to snap. "Let go of him, or I'll burn away those dirty hands of yours."

"Try it and I'll let razor-sharp vines cut you to pieces." Jackson flicked his wrist again and the ring on his right hand glowed in an eery light. Vines shot out of the floor and raised behind the smirking man. After he waved in the direction of the Colonel, said plants raced towards the raven-haired man with rapid speed.

Easily dodging the plants, Mustang snapped and quickly burned the plants to ashes. Before he could attack Jackson though, more plants raced towards him and forced him to dodge and snap flames in their direction. _Damn those plants. I can't get a direct hit at Jackson when it goes on like this._

Soon, he was surrounded by plants and could barely burn them all down. Some of them started to whip at him, hitting him and ripping his right upper sleeve open. He could feel the blood dripping from the cut.

"Damn that guy." Narrowing his eyes, Mustang dodged the next plants and snapped flames around them, hoping to hit Jackson.

Said man suddenly screamed in surprise and pain. The plants still didn't disappear, which meant he was still able to transmute.

_Somehow I have to hit his arm without killing him. I'll be damned if I end up giving him an easy way out. _Anger and frustration coiled in the Colonel, as suddenly a vine whipped his left shoulder again. Pain shot through his body and he groaned in annoyance. _It's going to be really hard not to kill this guy._

Raising both his hands, Mustang prepared himself for a massive blast. Two simultaneous snaps were heard and twin paths of flames snaked through the heated air, burning up every plant in their way. The room then was filled with steam from the water within the plants and green scraps of leaves and vines. The raven-haired man had to wait for a clear view, but the view he got in the end wasn't what he had expected.

The room was empty. Mustang was the only person standing there. Alone.

His onyx eyes widened in realisation, as he glanced over to the wide open window. "Damn that bastard," he hissed as he stormed over to said window. The icy wind lashed at his face as he leaned out of the frame, soon after spotting the fugitive and his bound subordinate. His gloved fist collided angrily with the window frame. "Where are those damn guards?" Anger shadowed his features as he picked up the phone from his desk, dialing without hesitation.

A click sounded through he shell, as the other picked up. _"Hughes."_

"Jackson kidnapped Fullmetal!"

* * *

Thanks to **Ren-tan**, **Anie-chan**, **Shadow-kun**, **brz** and **the-ice-cold-alchemist** for always reviewing. Ihr bekommt deutsche Süßigkeiten! I don't exactly know when the next chapter will be finished. Wether on Friday or Sunday, I can't really tell. You damn brain, why didn't you fucking tell me that I mixed up chapters? I'm cursing too much lately… Is it okay to curse in German? I think so… Prepare for German cussing in future Author Notes!

Would anyone believe me now, if I said that I only curse rarely? Well… I say _Scheiße_ (=shit) a lot. Almost all day.

–Murasaki


	7. Doubled Pain

Gosh, this was a whole lot of work *about to faint*. Please enjoy!

Warning: This chapter contains adult themes.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter VII  
– Doubled Pain –

_"What happened?"_ the spectacled man wanted to know, his voice revealing his agitation.

"Jackson somehow sneaked into Headquarters and I walked in on him violating Fullmetal again," Roy responded in a rush. "I fought against him and while my vision was blocked, he knocked out Fullmetal and ran off. Get some guards here so they can catch him before he escapes!"

_"Why? Aren't there any guards?"_

"If there were guards, then that guy wouldn't have been able to get in here in the first place!"

_"Never mind. I'll take care of the streets and you organize some guards for Headquarters to search for him."_

"Right." With a slam the receiver was placed back its ∆ and Mustang quickly dialed the next number with nimble fingers. Only one ring sounded until someone picked up. "We have to find Jackson, Lieutenant! He kidnapped Fullmetal and is about to escape!"

* * *

Dizzyness making thoughts slurry. Anger mingled with Fear. Engulfing darkness.

Those were the things Edward woke up to. An annoyed groan left the teen as he slowly sat up from the soft material beneath him. "Did I get captured again? Man, this is getting ridiculous! I'm a fucking State Alchemist! How can some geezer knock me out and take me away _twice_! Jeez, I should've at least broken his nose or something." With one gloved hand he ruffled his now slightly messy hair. "Damn, that bastard. He should just crawl in some lone hole and die."

Suddenly, a click and a creak cut through the silence of the dark room. More and more light seeped in through the growing gap in the door. Soon, the white light was too much for Edward's eyes to handle, which were currently used to the darkness. He shielded his sensitive eyes with one arm, white stars already covering his sight. A groan of frustration sounded from his frowning mouth as the person in the door didn't seem to move even an inch. "Close the fucking door! It's too damn bright!" he groaned out annoyedly.

More moments passed in which the person just stood there. Hesitantly, the Fullmetal Alchemist dropped his arm and narrowed his eyes to make out a silhouette in the bright light. His eyes adjusted quickly to the bright light and shortly after a surprised look was plastered on the teen's features. "You… Are you…"

"Oh my, you poor thing. I'm sorry my husband was so rough on you. He can be so difficult to deal with sometimes."

Only slowly did the image of the person in front of him become clearer in Edward's mind. "Who are you?" He could only manage a whisper. A seemingly innocent woman suddenly appearing wasn't what he had expected. Even though her face was still shadowed by the darkness, he could vaguely make out her features. _Did she save me?_ _But she mentioned her husband._ _Wait…_ "Are you… Laura Jackson, the wife of Draigen Jackson?"

"Oh yes, indeed. You are a remarkably smart boy after all. Just as my husband told me." A sickly sweet smile was spread on her still young features, her light-brown hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. "How about we make some light now?"

That smile never wavered for even a split second, even though Edward was glaring dangerously at her. Ignoring the furious teen, she reached for something hidden in the darkness, which was followed by a click and bright light filling the once dark room. "Now that's better, isn't it?"

Her face was now more visible to the Fullmetal Alchemist. As he eyed the woman, his amber eyes widened more and more at each second passing. His jaw dropped slightly open and he gaped at the woman before him. The woman that looked strikingly similar to Trisha Elric, his mother. Her eyes though weren't as round as his kind mother's had been and seemed edgier and slitted. The colour reflected in them wasn't of a rich light-green like Trisha's, but seemed more like a dirty puddle with green sludge mixed in it. Her skin was paler and the shape of her face not as round. Her whole appearance seemed… depressed, not matching her nice behaviour. Despite that, she still could have been a clone of his mother.

Deep worry soon filled Laura's features as she noticed the teen staring at her incredulously. "Oh my, might there be something on my face?"

Silently Edward shook his head, never averting his gaping gaze from the woman before him.

"Then is there something hurting you?" Without waiting for a reply, she stepped towards the teen and cupped his face in her hands, examining him.

Shaken out of his dazed shock, Edward slapped away her slender hands. "Where am I?" he demanded to know.

Laura shot a warm smile at him. "What a silly question, dear. At home of course, Edo-kun."

"Home?" The teen searched the woman's face for something, _anything_, that would have told him what twisted game exactly was being played with him.

"Of course." Again Laura tried to examine his face, cupping his face with her soft hands. "Now we are all together and can finally live together," she cooed happily, her smile widening.

"Live together?" Baffled the teen shot the woman a surprised glare and slapped away her stroking hands from his face again. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Laura grabbed his wrists and leaned her smiling face towards his. "From now on we are a family, Edo-kun. We will live together, help each other and… love each other. Just like in every other family.

More and more of her weight pushed Edward down onto the mattress he was sitting on. "W-What…" His baffled expression soon changed into an angry scowl. "Get the fuck off of me!" He didn't want to hit a woman, so he planned to talk Laura out of whatever she was planning.

Her features suddenly lit up in a sweat smile. "Ah! You should remember the deal you made with my husband."

"D-Deal?" The words took the blonde a while to completely sink in. "What are you trying to say?" he questioned harshly and in a low voice.

Soft bell-like chuckles left the young woman as she smiled down at the teen beneath her. "My husband told me to have fun with you! Since he's always out battling, I don't see him much. And whenever he comes home, he's wether injured or too tired to have fun with me. So he told me to have fun with you instead!"

"Then you're… we…"

"Yes, my Edo-chan! We're going to have lots of fun!"

Suddenly, another person stood in the doorframe, blocking some of the light flowing in.

Laura's expression brightened up even more as she spotted her husband. "How long have you been here, dear?"

His heavy steps sounding through the room, Jackson approached a chair next to the bed. "I just came here. Are you having fun, honey?"

"Oh, yes. I'm just starting." Excitedly she clapped her hands. "Are you going to watch, dear?"

"Yes, I think I'll do just that. I've been running around a lot and carrying an unconscious runt here wasn't helping at all."

The scowl plastered on his features deepening, Edward clenched his fists tightly. "Who are you calling so small he could get lost in a keyhole?" he yelled angrily, thrashing around to get away from the crazy woman making gooey eyes at him.

Jackson released amused chuckles as he looked at his victim being straddled by his wife.

Husband and wife exchanged looks and soon Laura began unbuttoning the teen's shirt.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Roy. We lost them." Hughes' shoulders were slumped and his expression shadowed with disappointment. Vainly, he waited for an answer from his friend. "Roy?" he tried. "Roy?"

Mustang sat at his desk, his head buried in his hands, arms leaning on the wooden surface, his fingers gripping his own raven hair. "I should have been more careful," he suddenly muttered, barely audible. "I knew something was off. I knew there was something bothering Fullmetal."

Hughes stood in front of the desk, eyeing his friend closely. "That's why you went back?"

"Yeah. I just had this feeling that we were searching in the wrong place." He raised his head, but didn't look at his worried friend. "I actually just wanted to check on Fullmetal to assure myself that everything was fine. But then I walked in on Jackson… groping him. If only I hadn't left him with just Havoc. Now he's injured too."

"You couldn't have known that Jackson would attack Havoc like that." Hughes knew it was hard trying to soothe the Flame Alchemist, but he tried anyway.

"He's a State Alchemist, so he's unpredictable!" Mustang insisted firmly. "We shouldn't let this place be guarded by these idiots that can't even defend themselves from some plants."

"The guards aren't prepared for a State Alchemist attacking them, Roy."

Sighing, Mustang loosened up a bit again. "You're right. We should continue the search anyway. Let everyone search the places they're at right now. Tell the Lieutenant to look for a house or a plot Jackson might have bought. Search the areas around the place he lives with accuracy."

"Yes, Sir." After Hughes had saluted to his superior, he turned and left the office, a sad smile tugging at his lips at the thought of how desperate Roy had become in his attempts of finding Edward.

Mustang watched his friend leave and listened to the ceasing steps outside of his office. Looking down at the documents sprawled before him, he sighed. He soon pushed himself out of his seat and walked over to a window, a frown plastered on his face. "Why did you let yourself be taken away like that, Fullmetal?"

* * *

Edward desperately tried to push the woman off of him, as Laura started to undress him with a sweat smile. His attempts at freeing himself were interrupted by Jackson suddenly grabbing his wrists.

"Don't forget our deal, Eddo-kun," he mumbled in a low, threatening voice. "It involves me as well as my wife, so be an obedient, little soldier and do as I say."

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Edward shot a scathing glare at the older man.

More delighted chuckles fell from Laura's mouth as she had succeeded in undressing the teen. Her green eyes trailed over the defined chest and lean muscles. "Dear, you were right when you said he was well built."

A warm smile sprawled on Jackson's face. "Would I ever lie to you, honey?"

Laura then eyed her newest toy and began to _play_ with the teen's most sensitive part. She stroked it, grazed her nails along a sensitive vain and grabbed the blonde's member with fierce, earning pained gasps. A pleased look lined her smiling features as she succeeded in earning an erection from the now flushed Fullmetal Alchemist. Only seconds later, Laura eagerly slammed down onto the squirming teen beneath her and impaled herself on Edward's length. A loud moan sounded from her lips and she dug her nails into Edward's sun-kissed skin.

While he sat in his chair and watched his wife bucking her hips against the teen's, Jackson smiled in a pleased fashion, a bulge in his military pants forming.

* * *

"Roy, we've been searching for hours now and we haven't found anything that could lead us to either Jackson _or_ Ed." Worry nagged at the spectacled man, as he looked down at the documents containing the research they had made the past hours. "Everyone who saw Jackson is either badly injured or dead. That guy is a ruthless monster and we don't even know if he's still in Amestris."

Mustang stared down at his desk, his hands folded under his chin and his arms resting on the desktop. His face already showed the first signs of tiredness. "Jackson's arrest has been ordered already and since he's officially a fugitive now, the guards at Amestris' borders know about him and will arrest him as soon as they notice him."

"There are ways to leave Amestris without being noticed. You know that, Roy." It pained Hughes deeply to have to be the one speaking out all the negative things. "And I hate to say this, but when we don't find any leads soon, then Ed's chances of surviving are low. _If _he survives he'll definitely be scarred by this. The one time he got raped, he only had been in Jackson's hands for barely an hour. Now he's been with that guy for six hours already and…" Hughes' features scrunched up in disgust and worry, "I don't want to imagine what he must have gone through until now."

"Fullmetal is strong," Mustang declared, although his confidence was wavering. "He can cope with this. He's been all right these past days, hasn't he?"

"Roy…" Again Hughes had to speak out the bad things, "you should have noticed too: Ed just isn't the person to openly show it when he's in a bad shape. The times you had to comfort him, those were the times when he openly showed his feelings. Of course, him loosing all his memories of Jackson raping him had something to do with it. But even now, after he regained those memories, he's still hiding his pain and his feelings from us."

"How can you so sure about that, Maes?" Mustang sent a quizzical look at his friend, trying to find an answer in those light-green eyes.

"Ed's stubborn after all. Even in this kind of situation, he would never even think about sharing the things that bother him. With nobody, not even Al. He's the Fullmetal Alchemist for a reason, remember that, Roy."

Mustang buried his face in one hand as he realised how dense he had been, knowing the truth, but not wanting to accept it. "I should have known better than to think Fullmetal was fine on his own. I thought he would at least talk to Alphonse-kun. But I guess you're right: He's just too stubborn to even admit to himself that he's not fine."

"What should we do now?" Hughes inquired, his expression puzzled. "There aren't any traces of Jackson and nobody can tell where he went. We only found three eye-witnesses. One said he saw Jackson boarding a train heading South, the other claimed to have seen him grab Ed and push him into a black car, then driving off and the last one told us he saw Jackson leaving a bar here in Central. We checked all three locations, but couldn't find anything and we couldn't get any other testimonies. He hasn't bought any plots and the house he lives in right now is the only place we can think of him hiding, but of course no one was there as we checked it. There's no trace of him."

Mustang ran one hand through his raven hair in frustration, clicking his tongue. "Then let someone continue looking for eye-witnesses and question Jackson's superiors and subordinates, the people he works with all day. One of them might have a clue or even know where Jackson would hide in this kind of situation. Question his wife Laura Jackson. She should know the most about him."

"We already tried that, but we haven't been able to contact her yet." Hughes turned his face to the side, his eyebrows creasing. "It's possible that she's Jackson's accomplice and is on the run with him."

"Or he killed her in order to prevent her from spilling information that would lead us to him."

For a few tense moments, silence reigned over the Colonel's office. The growing tension of not knowing what to do was almost palpable.

Hughes walked a bit closer to his friend. "Roy, we need to tell Al about this. We can't just leave him in the dark like this."

Shaking his head, Mustang sighed silently. "I know, but if we tell him, he'll just run off and search for Fullmetal himself. We should at least show him that he doesn't have to do anything on his own."

A small smile made its way to Hughes' face as he stepped back again. "Al is reasonable enough to understand."

"I know, but he'll still worry." An exasperated sigh left the Colonel as he sent a tiny glare at the other.

"Roy, those two had it worse. Believe me: Al will understand."

Mustang glanced at his subordinate and friend, while mulling over the man's words. "Fine, I'll call him. You and the others go look for some leads."

"Yes, Sir." After saluting, Hughes turned and left the room, leaving his friend alone in the office's silence.

* * *

Dim, cold light surrounded Edward as he lay on the bed, its sharp springs digging into his back through the mattress. He was alone. He felt dirty and wrecked. His innocence had been taken from him forcefully some time ago already, but now his purity had been defiled and shadowed even more, covered by filth. He was impure.

Desperation clawed at his guts, uncertainty nagged at his stressed mind and the feeling of being dirty, being filthy, being impure dug itself deeply into his conscience.

Jackson seemed to have left a bag on the floor before he had left.

Taking a deep breath, the teen sat up and rose from the creaking bed beneath him. His stomach was still aching from Laura having dug her nails into the skin and her slamming roughly onto him over and over again. He walked over to where the item rested on the floor, ignoring the fact that he was still exposed due to Laura having taken his clothes with her, the clothes she had _freed_ him of.

Did they leave him something in that bag?

Curiosity overwhelmed his uncertainty and he zipped open the bag beside which he was kneeling. The sight of lumps inside the bag greeted him and he pulled at one, producing a shirt from the depths of clothes. It was a simple white button-up shirt, but still something he usually wouldn't wear. Other than the shirt, there were also other clothes, like loose, dark pants, socks and of course underwear. After pulling the seemingly clean clothes out, he slid them over his bruised body. At the bottom of the bag was also a pair of black shoes that he put on. He then eyed himself and noticed something.

_This is something Al would wear, if only he had a real…_

A frown formed on Edward's face at the thought of his beloved brother.

_Al… I want to see him._

A choked sob was released by the blond teen, tears welling up in his amber eyes. Closing his eyes shut, he tried to prevent them from falling, but his attempts went futile as he felt the hot wetness fall from his eyes, rolling over his cheeks and falling from his chin. Edward clamped a hand over his mouth, in order to trap the sobs and whimpers, threatening to escape, but they sounded from his throat nevertheless. His knees became weaker with each second passing and soon, his own legs couldn't hold his weight any longer and gave up under him. He collapsed onto his knees, tears streaming freely from his eyes and his sobs and whimpers filling the otherwise silent room.

He could feel something sharp digging into his shin, drawing blood, but he was robbed off of too much energy to care. Cold pain shot through his leg, spreading through his already aching body.

Even though something had died inside of him that day, the pain wrecking his body reminded him that he was still alive. That he _needed_ to stay alive to reach his goals one day.

* * *

Okay, so I'm going to be honest with you guys: I actually had been planning to end this story with the last chapter, but since I got so many reviews, views, alerts and stuff, I decided to continue this. Be happy! You guys motivated me to continue! I got most of the following parts planned, but it could take me a while longer from now on to upload a new chapter, since it's all still a little vague. I don't want to make any promises, but I'll try to finish the next chapter until next Tuesday or Wednesday.

In case someone didn't get the innuendo about Ed's name: Fullmetal = hagane. In japanese _hagane_ is a word to describe a stubborn person, thus the name _Fullmetal_.

You guys probably already know it, but I'm really,_ really_ thankful to **Ren-tan**, **Anie-chan**, **Shadow-kun **and **brz **for reviewing so much. Uhh… should I try some Japanese? Arigatou gozaimashita, minna!

I'd like to recommend a fic called _The Room_, a story written by 9shadowcat9, which I beta-ed for and is really awesome.

I also have a question to everyone that's reading: How old do you think I am? To those who already know how old I am: How old did you think I was before you knew my true age? I'm just curious about how I seem to other people because many told me they couldn't really guess my age right. I would like to know if that's due to my appearance or the way I act and talk. Please tell me honestly what you think, I really wanna know. It's not important if you guess right, just be honest and tell me how old I seem, judging by the way I write.

–Murasaki


	8. The Lunatic Reverie

Haaah, I made it in time *sighs*. I thought I wouldn't get finished on time, but somehow I suddenly got a huge writing-fit, so I was able to write a lot.

Hope you'll enjoy.

Warning: This chapter contains gore and graphic violence.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter VIII  
– The Lunatic Reverie–

The man just stood there, his gaze seemingly fixed on something far away.

Edward didn't know what it was the man was looking at, or what exactly he was doing. It seemed he was waiting for something, or maybe looking into the distance for something. A few moments passed in which the blonde just watched the man standing there, uttering not a single word.

Was it really the right thing to do this? Would he be punished for this? Would someone hate him? There was no going back now though. Although he hadn't ever done anything like this before. How was he supposed to do such a thing? Hadn't he sworn to reach his goals without doing it? The thing he despised so much? But his mind was already settled, his left arm transmuted into a razor-sharp blade and his amber eyes burning with fierce and hatred. Slowly, he approached the man while uncertainty about his decision still nagged at him.

Suddenly, the man turned his head, looking back at him with a sick look, with smug and lunatic eyes. "You're so lovely when you're mad, Edo-kun," he purred, madness swinging in his voice.

Determination overwhelmed him as the Fullmetal Alchemist jolted forward and rose his transmuted blade. With a snarl, he lunged at the man and slammed the blade down on him.

Hot blood gushed out of the deep wound in the man's neck, a choked gurgle sounding from his torn throat. The crimson wetness covered Edward's already red coat, tinting it in an even darker ruddy colour.

Even as the man laid there, blood still oozing out of the fatal wound, the teen wasn't satisfied. He would make the man suffer as much as he had had to! He would get the man to beg him to finally kill him!

The already blood-covered blade rose again and as it came down, it hit the man's stomach, more red fluid gushing out. The blonde dug the blade deeper into the choking man's guts, twisting and turning it, enjoying the sight of the man suffocating from his own blood collecting in his torn throat. A wicked grin sprawled on Edward's face as he brought down the blade again and again, each time hitting a different spot.

Sounds of blood splattering, of skin being ripped and the noises of a dying man filled the area and soon the slurping noise of guts being cut open and being crushed joined in.

The warm feeling of satisfaction curled up in the blonde, the blonde ceasing his movements and watched the light of life vanish from Jackson's once piercing eyes.

A dreaded scream was torn from Edward's throat, the teen sitting up from the creaking bed with a jolt. Pained pants left him and his lungs felt as if they were too small. He felt as if he was being choked. The image of the dying Jackson was burned into his mind and it wouldn't leave him alone.

_A dream…_

Suddenly, there were rushed steps coming from outside the room. Someone was approaching him. Shortly after the door flew open and revealed Jackson, wearing a somewhat worried expression on his face.

"Is everything alright, Edo-kun?" the reddish-blond man asked with what seemed to be concern. "I heard you scream." There was no malice in his voice, nothing that indicated that he was being dishonest. Was he really worried about Edward?

"Why would you even care?" The blonde leaned onto his elbows and averted his gaze to the ground, avoiding the man's gaze, after hearing his own voice. He had intended to sound fierce, but his voice was shaky and clearly showed his fear of the man.

"I'm worried about you."

Now that was unexpected.

The blonde glared at the man, confusion lying in his amber eyes.

"Do you like your new room, Edo-kun?" the man asked out of nowhere as if nothing had happened before.

"Eh?" As Edward looked around a little, he noticed that he indeed was in a different room than before. And not a bad one!

The walls were covered in a cerulean blue colour and the floor was paved with dark-brown, wooden boards. The furniture matched the color of the walls and also didn't look bad by itself. The bed Edward was only partially lying on was standing at the wall farthest away from the door, the door Jackson was standing in. It was a big and soft-cushioned bed, the complete opposite of what the teen had been resting in before. There weren't any windows though.

"When did you move me?" Edward asked suspiciously, his voice still shaky.

The man cocked his head a little. "When you were sleeping. I felt bad having to leave you in that dirty room. It was only meant to be temporary, so we could come here in the end." A warm smile appeared on the man's face.

"What are you planning to do with me?" Even though the man didn't seem dangerous at the moment, the Fullmetal Alchemist never gave in to the warm smile the man shot him.

"We aren't planning anything, Eddo-kun. We just want to be with you."

"Che, then why don't you do it like every other person would and just come to me and say _Hi_, or something?"

Jackson released a small chuckle and dropped his head towards the ground, the smile still present on his face. The moment he looked up again, his smile only grew wider. "That wouldn't be as fun. I also want you all to myself. I want you to belong to me. My wife only gets to be with you as an apology because I'm never there. Otherwise, you belong to me."

"I don't belong to anyone, you fucking retard!" the blonde snarled.

Unlike other people would, the reddish-blond man just released amused laughter at the boy's angered behavior. "Breakfast is ready. Change into new clothes and come into the kitchen. It's the room at the end of the corridor." Without sparing any further words, the Cretan man turned and left.

While watching the man leave, Edward's scowl only grew deeper. "Che, what a pain in the ass." As he sat further up, the blonde hissed in pain, his stomach still aching. Ignoring the pain shooting through his whole body, he rose from the bed and walked over to a commode standing on the left side of the bed. He opened the first drawer and there he found shirts, mostly white and gray ones. The second drawer contained pants, all of them the same as the one he was wearing in that moment. In the last drawer he found boxers and socks. "So they give me food and clothes in exchange for raping me, huh?" He slipped off the clothes he was wearing, but even after he had changed his garments, he still felt filthy and impure. "I need a shower." Shortly after, he left the room through the only door, walked down the corridor outside and reached the door leading to the kitchen. He could hear the voices of Jackson and Laura from inside. They sounded cheerful and careless, like every married couple would, but they weren't a usual couple anyway.

Holding a cup of steaming coffee, Laura averted her gaze from her husband's face and towards Edward. "Ah, Edo-kun! So you're finally joining our breakfast." She shot the teen one of her sickly sweet smiles and beckoned him to the one free chair next to her.

Edward avoided meeting either Laura's or Jackson's gaze as he stepped forward and sat onto the chair. The two adults now sat at his sides, the wife to his left and the husband to his right.

"How have you slept?" Laura wanted to know, taking a sip from her steaming cup.

Only a short glance at her was enough for the blonde and he stared at the almost tabletop again. "Not bad."

The woman's features of course brightened in an instant. "That's good to hear. What would you like to eat?"

"I don't want anything."

Despite his discourteous answer, Laura simply smiled at him. "Then I'll make you some pancakes!" She literally jumped up from her seat and walked over to the counter.

The blonde took a breath, about to retort, but was cut off by Jackson.

"Edo-kun…" The man's face was lit in a friendly expression.

_Creepy._

The pseudo-kind look never left the man's features. "Our deal contains the condition of you staying alive. If you die from starvation, our deal will be declared invalid. Wether or not you're alive doesn't matter. I _will_ reveal your secret to the military nonetheless. You're brother will be taken away to a laboratory and cruel experiments will be made on him. He won't have his brother to save him then. No one will be able to save him. Of course I prefer you being alive, but otherwise I won't hesitate to reveal your secret."

A bitter laughter was released by Edward. "What are you planning to do? You're officially a fugitive now, so who would believe you?"

"I have my subordinates. They swore loyalty to me, no matter what would happen. If I ordered them to examine your brother, they would do it and reveal your secret. I also told them to take actions in case I die."

"You're bluffing," the blonde retorted calmly.

A smug smile made its way to Jackson' face. "Wanna try?"

With a grunt, Edward watched as Laura brought a plate with pancakes and placed it in front of him, her lips curled into a satisfied smile. Not reacting in any way, the teen just stared at the food.

In response, Jackson shot him a dangerous glare. "Eat," he commanded in a low voice.

Reluctantly, the Fullmetal Alchemist picked up the fork and the knife next to the plate. A thoughtful expression crossed his features, as he eyed the knife. _I could always stab him._

Jackson's glare became fiercer. "Don't even think about it. Remember our deal, Edo-kun."

An exasperated sigh left the teen and he raised his fork and knife, about to take the first bite of the steaming pancakes. All of a sudden, he stopped dead in his tracks, glaring at said pancakes as if they were about to attack him.

Laura blinked at him in confusion. "Is there something wrong, Edo-kun?"

Edward's eyebrow started to twitch in what had to be an annoyed fashion. "Did you…" He trailed off, lowering his head a tiny bit.

"What?" Laura questioned, still confused, worry mingling into her tone.

Finally, the blonde looked up from the plate and gazed straight at the woman. "Did you make these with milk?" he questioned, his voice dead-serious.

The worry falling off of the woman like a heavy burden lifted, Laura's face lit up into a smile again. "Why of course! How else should I make pancakes?"

The teen simply slumped together in a defeated way. "I won't eat it," he stated calmly and almost in a detached way.

Laura cocked her head as she eyed the pancakes, then the blonde. "Edo-kun, do you not like milk?"

"I don't," the teen answered coolly.

The woman tilted her head, a bitter-sweet smile still splitting her features. "But you need to drink milk regularly, or else you'll stay so short forever."

"Who're you calling a pipsqueak midget that can't even go to the beach because he's so short he'd sink into the sand, but when the tide comes in you don't even have to worry about him drowning because he's so microscopic that he can breathe the oxygen atoms in the water?"

The woman just laughed amusedly. "Oh my, you're so lively, Edo-kun."

A snarl left Edward at the woman's calm and amused attitude. "I won't eat it."

Jackson reached out towards the teen's plate and pushed it further towards Edward. "Eat," the man demanded again.

Finally giving in, the blonde took his first bite, while the other two watched him happily. He had to suppress the thought of milk being an ingredient of the pancakes so he wouldn't gag and haul barely digested food all over the table.

The breakfast went past in silence. Other than Laura and Jackson talking about things that seemed meaningless to Edward, only few words were exchanged. That way the breakfast ended quickly and the blonde soon rose from the chair to head back to _his room_.

* * *

The office was silent. Nothing other than the sound of rustling papers was heard in the Colonel's office, until Hughes stepped into the room carrying what looked like a file.

"I think we found something," he stated as he approached his friend's desk.

The tired Mustang didn't answer, but only shot the man an expecting look.

"Yesterday we questioned Jackson's superiors. One of them told us that Jackson once said something about an underground bunker. It seems that it's unused and that he often went there for unknown reasons. His subordinates claim not to know anything, but they're probably covering up for Jackson."

After the announcement, the light of determination returned to Mustang's eyes. "Do you know the exact location?"

"We only have a vague guess of the location. It seems we have to search for it in a one mile radius. I already sent Hawkeye over to search."

"Then we'll head there too." The light of determination returning to Mustang's eyes, the man straightened up. "It's the first real lead we have in two days."

Only seconds later, the two men were leaving Headquarters and heading towards the East of Central.

* * *

Hawkeye was searching for the bunker together with Breda. While Havoc was still being hospitalized after Jackson's attack, Fuery and Falman were still investigating otherwise.

As the blond woman fought her way through the thick forest, she soon caught a glimpse of what seemed like a mound in the ground. Ignoring the broken branches that lay on the ground, scratching at her pant legs, she walked over to the unusual-looking mound. "Colonel, it's here!" she called, waving her hand.

Soon, Mustang, Hughes and Breda joined her, while she searched for something on the mound. She pushed away leaves, branches and dirt and revealed a door. Mustang walked over to where she stood and pulled open the heavy door with some effort. The raven-haired man eyed the stairs leading down into the bunker and was the first one to step in, determined to find his kidnapped subordinate.

* * *

Edward reached the room he apparently was staying in, while a scowl was plastered on his face. All the while, as he flopped onto the soft bed, he muttered inaudible curses under his breath. For a while he just lay there staring at the white ceiling. "I don't get these guys," he started to mumble after a while. "First Jackson rapes me, then he kidnaps me, then he lets his wife rape me and now they give me food and a room to stay in. Do they both have some bipolar disorder, or what?"

Seemingly out of nowhere, the sound of Jackson's voice filled the room and the door creaked open. "I do believe myself to be mentally healthy, Edo-kun."

Immediately, Edward had sat up and scowled at the man, pain shooting through his sore body once again. "What're you doing here?"

Instead of answering, Jackson walked over to the teen, lifted one knee and placed it on the bed's edge. After lifting his other knee as well onto the bed, he approached the teen until he was straddling the scowling teen. "Don't make such a scary face, Edo-kun."

"Get off of me, you sick bastard!" In vain Edward tried to push the man away, but suddenly the feeling of drowsiness overwhelmed his senses and his limbs felt heavier than usual. "Wha…" Everything within his sight became blurred and Jackson's face went hazy, turning into one dark shadow. The blonde felt his cheeks heating up and his heart beat rising. The sound of his own blood rushing rapidly through his veins sounded in his ears. His skin was overly sensitive to the Cretan man's roaming touch.

Jackson fondled open the teen's shirt, button for button, his fingers grazing over sweat-covered and flushed skin. The blonde's heavy and shaky breathing and the shudders, running through the blonde's body at each touch caused the man to groan in arousal.

Edward's eyelids became heavier with each second passing. Keeping his eyes open was becoming a huge chore.

Suddenly, the once shut door burst open, revealing a scowling figure in the doorframe, snarling venomously at the man straddling the Fullmetal Alchemist.

* * *

Can anyone guess what's happening to Ed and why he's so drowsy?As always, I'm really thankful to **Ren-tan**, **Anie-chan**, **Shadow-kun **and **brz **for reviewing so much.

Ed's short rant – that was actually a long rant – is somewhat a quote from Vic Mignogna. It's something he said on a convention, so it's not from me. All rights belong to Vic, I guess.

Meh, my charger burned up! It's been bitching around for a while now, but now it's completely ruined! And Apple still hasn't told us if we get a new one for free! That's why I don't know if I can finish the next chapter sometime this week. I'll do my best and try to write on my mom's laptop, but if I can finish in the next few days I don't know. Scheiß Aufladegerät! Sorry, if I'll have to make you wait.

In case anyone has questions or suggestions, you can PM me or simply leave a review.

–Murasaki


	9. A Phone Call

I seriously _can't _write on stupid Win-san a.k.a. my mom's big-ass _professional_ Laptop with Windows 7 on it. It's not that I have a problem with Windows (I've used it for years after all), but… but… I want my Mac-tan! Sorry, if this is crappy, but I miss my Mac-tan.

Warning: This chapter contains explicit adult themes, graphic violence and coarse language.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter IX  
– A Phone Call –

The stairs leading downwards into the darkness of the bunker were littered with withered leaves. Mustang led the way, while his subordinates followed after him. The tiredness had disappeared from his face and had been replaced with a determined look, the fire of anger and hatred burning in his onyx eyes.

The soldiers soon found themselves in front of a heavy-looking door. It seemed like a vault's door, obviously made out of metal, with a monstrous handle. Swiftly, the raven-haired man grabbed the handle and turned it, opening the door with a loud and dragged out creak. A grim expression was already plastered on his pale face as the door swung open.

Silence reigned over the group of people, everyone eyeing the scene before them.

A devastated sigh escaped from Mustang as he stepped further into the room. "Apparently, no one's here." As his subordinates followed after him, the Colonel let his gaze wander over the deserted place. "Let's search for clues. Jackson and Fullmetal might have been here."

Hawkeye and the other men saluted and scattered around the small place to search for new clues. Some shuffling, rummaging and turning the whole place upside down later, the call of Breda cut through the silence of searching.

"I found something!" he called from a room in the back.

Soon after, Mustang, Hawkeye and Hughes were gathered around the place Breda stood at. It was a small room, even dirtier than the others. The bed, standing at one side, seemed as if it would fall apart any second. Other than that, nothing was there. Not a single window or any other furniture. But what had caused Breda to call wasn't the filthy room, but the crimson fluid on the dirt-covered floor. It was still somewhat fresh.

Hughes was kneeling beside the stain. "Could be from Ed. He must have been injured by this shard." He carefully picked up the blood-stained glass shard.

Mustang crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "So they might have been here, but now they're definitely gone. Anything else?"

Hawkeye stepped up, a red lump lying in her folded arms. "These are definitely his clothes. I found them in a trash can."

After Mustang had taken the dirt-covered and torn clothes from the Lieutenant, he unfolded them and eyed them with a disgusted look. "Now we know that they definitely have been here. It's obvious these where taken off with force. I guess Fullmetal has been violated again." A sad look crossed his once determined face, tiredness quickly returning to his face. "Isn't there anything else that can lead us to them? Anything that could tell us where they went?" He eyed each of his subordinates expectantly, hoping someone could come up with something.

All of them shook their heads with sad expressions or averted their gazes to the floor.

"Roy…" Hughes' voice sounded quietly, "if we don't find any leads…" He paused and avoided Mustang's now heated glower.

"I know that," the Colonel hissed. "If we don't find any true leads, Fullmetal will be dead by the time we actually find him." Mustang lowered his head in defeat, the faces of his subordinates saddening even more. "Let's head back to Headquarters," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay going in by yourself, Roy?"

"I have to do this, Hughes. We need to report what we've found out about Fullmetal's case."

For a second, Hughes clenched his jaw. "So you're telling them that we haven't found anything?"

Mustang averted his gaze to the floor and narrowed his eyes. "We have to do this anyway." Glancing one last time at his friend, the Colonel opened the huge door and stepped into the large hall.

The sight of ten men sitting next to each other in a half circle greeted him. Each of them shot him an expectant glare, waiting for him to reach the center of the room in front of their seats. They waited for him to tell them about his achievements in the case of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Colonel Roy Mustang," the one in the middle of the row of people spoke up as the raven-haired man had reached his destination. "How far have you come in the case we assigned you?"

"My subordinates and I have followed several leads," Mustang replied, now serious and all business. "None of them led us to the whereabouts of either Lieutenant Colonel Jackson or Major Elric. I assure you that we will continue the search with all our might."

"In that case…" This time the person left to the one sitting in the middle spoke up, "we withdraw you from the task of finding the kidnapped Major Elric and recommend you to focus on finding Lieutenant Colonel Jackson instead."

Anger and surprise caused Mustang to furrow his brows and narrow his eyes. "What about Major Elric? We are going to abandon him?"

Now the one sitting to the right of the man in the middle spoke up. "We declare Major Elric dead, considering that he has been kidnapped by a person having killed nine and also severely injured sixteen of our soldiers. Knowing the fact that there haven't been any clues about the whereabouts of Major Elric, we assume that he has been killed by now. The chances of retrieving him alive are equal to zero and the only thing we will achieve after searching for him will be his corpse. Of course we deeply regret the loss of such a talented State Alchemist as Major Elric, but seeing as we can't spend more money and time on finding one person while there are wars having to be fought, this is something we have to do."

"You are dismissed," the one in the middle announced.

After a slight bow, Mustang turned and left, a scowl plastered on his face.

* * *

_Who is that in the door? I can't see anything._

Suddenly, a weight seemed lifted from Edward's body. Had Jackson stood up?

There were weird-looking shadows dancing before him. One was obviously Jackson, but the other one was thinner, _way_ thinner. Who was it?

One shadow slumped to the ground, while from the other's hands something was dripping. Was it Jackson that had fallen?

Only in the moment that something was blocking the light from above did the blonde notice that his eyes had fallen closed. Slowly, he forced open his tired eyes and looked up into the face of the person lurking above him. "E-Envy?" he whispered surprisedly, unable to shout, stand up, or even glare at the genderless creature the way would have liked to. Why was the homunculus there? Had he come to save the Fullmetal Alchemist? But why?

"Can you stand up?" Envy asked out of nowhere.

His voice reached Edward only in slurs, but the teen still understood what the homunculus had said. Reluctantly he shook his head, regretting it after feeling hot pain shoot through his spine, up his neck and to his head.

A theatrical sigh left Envy as he grabbed the blonde's arms and pulled him upright into a sitting position. "You really are a pain in the ass, Chibi-chan." He turned, so his back was facing the teen, then pulled Edward onto his back with only little effort, placing his hand under the blonde's knees. The alchemist's arms were hanging loosely around Envy's neck. Soon, they both were leaving the room and escaping from the eerie bunker, Envy carrying his enemy on his slender back.

The green-haired homunculus cringed, as he felt the blonde's flushed face rest on his shoulder and hot breaths tickling the bare skin of his neck. "Can't you get a hold of yourself, you stupid midget?" he hissed venomously. The only reply he got was a needy moan from the blonde. "You're really disgusting, you know that?" He was about to just drop the Fullmetal Alchemist when he even felt a bulge pressing against his lower back. "Why am I doing this again?" he asked himself, sarcasm lining each of his words. A devil-like grin spread on his once annoyed features though as a seemingly brilliant idea struck his mind. To test his theory, he shifted the weight of the teen on his back, so Edward's hardened crotch was rubbing against his back.

A heated moan escaped from the drowsy blonde and his breathing sped up, hot huffs of breath hitting Envy's pale ear.

"This could become really fun," the homunculus mumbled, smirking. Envy was carrying Edward through a thick forest at that time, purposely shifting the alchemist's weight in order to elicit those needy sounds from the teen. At each sigh and moan, his evil grin widened and with each second Edward's pants became tighter.

Moments later, the blonde started to move against the homunculus, desperately trying to relieve himself of his need. He felt disgusted with himself, doing that on the back of his enemy. But not just any enemy, but Envy out of all homunculi! It was getting harder to breathe and the heat building up in his body was becoming unendurable. Of course, Envy's back rubbing against him like that wasn't helping. Since Envy was definitely planning something, he was silent during their _trip_ through the forest. Did the homunculus even know where he was going?

Apparently, he did.

Only seconds later, the trees around them vanished from Edward's hazed sight, though they were only green blurs to him anyway. He forced his tired eyes open wider and was faced with the sight of a big, azure-blue blur and a light-brown one beneath it. The sky and a field maybe?

"Looks like we almost reached West City," Envy suddenly uttered absent-mindedly. A seemingly annoyed sigh left the green-haired homunculus. "It's so rocky and dry, ugh."

"Why're you doin' this?" the Fullmetal Alchemist slurred. "Aren't you s'pposed t' kill me?"

"Why do _you_ have to be such a nuisance? Just be thankful that I'm saving you."

The blonde took a few breaths before answering, trying to slow down his rapid breathing. "Don't trust you."

Reluctantly, the homunculus answered. _He'll forget anyway. _"You're important for something Father is planning, so we can't let you be killed off by some psychos."

"The sacrifice-thing?"

"Yeah, that. We guessed you would be able to save yourself, so we planned to just watch. But because you can't even protect yourself from some soldier and his lowly wretch, Father ordered me to get you. Now can you shut your trap?" To clarify his superiority over the teen, Envy shifted Edward's weight once again, eliciting another moan.

"S-Stop that." The Fullmetal Alchemist had attempted a venomous hiss, but his voice had only come out as a whisper.

"What? You mean this?"

Again, Edward was being shifted on Envy's back, his hardened member rubbing against his enemy. "Stop."

"Why? It's fun." For a moment Envy halted his teasing actions and was faced with what looked like an abandoned battle field. "I guess we're at West City now." He let his gaze wander over destroyed vehicles and corpses covered with dried blood. "Ah, so we're successful in this area too," he mumbled more to himself.

"You're causing these wars, aren't you?" Finally the haze was being lifted a little and Edward was able to form coherent sentences again. Despite the burning lust and the desire for release nagging at his fogged mind, the anger over useless wars being held was overwhelming. "You're causing people's deaths for your own sake, for some plan this Father-guy made."

Amused chuckles left Envy has he stepped over a man's corpse, the soldier's head splayed as crimson slush beside him. "Who knows?"

Even though West City was at war with Creta, nothing indicating a fight could be heard. No gunshots, no screams, not the sound of something being destroyed. Only silence reigned over the seemingly deserted city.

"Maybe they're taking a break from fighting," Envy assumed quietly, sarcasm in his voice. As he reached a street leading further into the city, he shape-shifted into the form of a random soldier, still carrying the Fullmetal Alchemist on his back. He wandered down abandoned streets, sometimes passing by citizens that had decided to never leave their home behind, ignoring the fact that their houses would be destroyed sooner or later anyway, along with themselves being killed.

Women carrying their newborn children, potential future soldiers, some of the older children playing with garbage they had found and elderly people watching the youngsters enjoying their childhood, despite the hopeless situation. They all shot the shape-shifted homunculus looks filled with pity at seeing the alleged soldier carrying a weakened teen on his back.

They all received disgusted looks from Envy. _Stupid humans._

Envy continued to carry Edward through abandoned parts of the town. Where to, the teen didn't know and could only guess.

"Put me down. I can walk by myself now."

"I don't think so," the homunculus replied dryly.

"Put me down, you palm tree!" The blonde avoided moving around too much to prevent his erection from growing even more – if that was even possible.

A vein started to thump angrily on Envy's temple as he gritted his teeth in annoyance. He reached a dark alley, far away from the secluded part of town in which citizens still lived. This part had been abandoned long ago. "We're there," he announced quietly.

"Where?" Edward inquired dully, looking around quizzically.

After removing his slim hands from under the blonde's legs, Envy simply dropped the blonde to the floor. "At our destination, of course."

"What the–" Edward suddenly found himself pressed against a wall. Hadn't he been sitting on the ground just a second ago?

"We're having a little fun now, Chibi-chan."

"Who are you calling so small that he could build a sandcastle with a single grain of sand?"

"Father actually told me to bring you to him as soon as I get you, but I decided to spend some more time with you."

"What do you mean by that?"

The homunculus leaned forward, holding Edward's hands tightly over the teen's head in his left hand, while his right hand rested on the blonde's stomach. "You know exactly what I mean," Envy purred right into the teen's ear.

_Fuck! Why does everyone have the desire to fucking rape me? Do I really look so rape-able? Why does everyone want to get into my pants so bad? Shit, now he's really in my pants._

Envy had slipped his free hand into Edward's pants. Licking his lips, he looked down at the teen's swollen member, peaking out of the slightly opened leather pants. "That must be painful." As he tightened his hand around the blonde's throbbing erection, he elicited a hiss and a moan from Edward.

"Fuck." Desperately Edward tried to free his hands from Envy's tight grip. _I have to get him to loosen this stupid death grip! Jeez, this is the third time already. What did I learn? Once you're caught, you can't escape. Isn't there a way to get him to weaken his grip?_ Only seconds later, an idea came to the Fullmetal Alchemist's mind. _Guess I'll go with it._

Envy had reached the point where he started to stroke Edward and caused the teen to gain another deep flush. But he wanted more. Only _watching_ those few reactions given wasn't satisfying at all. Would hurting him be more fun? To test his theory, he grazed his nails roughly over the blonde's arousal. Hearing the pained gasp, a Cheshire grin made its way to his face.

"Envy."

The homunculus' eyes widened in surprise.

Edward's flush had turned a bright colour and he was shivering from the sheer bliss.

Did the Fullmetal Alchemist just moan his name? Envy narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip around the blonde.

Another gasp was elicited from the teen. "Envy, stop teasing me." His amber eyes were glazed over with lust and desire, his sun-kissed skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Seeing that sight caused Envy to gulp and then gape at the teen. Was he really causing that much pleasure to the alchemist? Curiously, he continued to stroke Edward's length, watching each facial expression, listening to the gasps and moans of his name, feeling those shivers run through the small blonde's body. He could feel his own cock hardening at the mere sight of a flushed Edward Elric. _Damn, he's hot when he's like this._

Said teen was nearing his peak, throwing his head against the stone wall he was pressed against. His breaths left him as pants and the pleasure and bliss swirling through him was building up. He jerked his hips forward into the homunculus' hand. A Cheshire grin of his own had to be suppressed as he heard Envy groan.

Envy's strokes were getting more erratic with each second. Moans of one's own name like that would be too much to handle for any human being and Envy wasn't even human himself! _Does he know what he's doing to me? How can he be so tempting? He's just a fifteen-year-old runt!_ He felt the tingling feeling of pleasure crawling up his spine and into his stomach. It was getting harder not to rip off his skorts and just slam into the writhing and bucking form of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Only a few touches were separating Edward from his peak. Finally.

Suddenly, Envy halted his actions completely and removed his hand from the blonde's pants. A disappointed groan was heard coming from Edward as he bucked his hips towards Envy, hoping for release. It was painful. He had to watch Envy jerk off while his hands were bound, the blonde unable to do anything to relieve himself. He was forced to endure Envy getting his release and being able to free himself from the lust. Then he felt Envy's grip around his wrists loosening. He hesitated only a split second before he jerked his hands free, clapped them together and pressed them to the ground after kneeling down.

With a flash of blue light, the paved ground rose and wrapped around Envy's torso, throwing him back and away from the Fullmetal Alchemist. He then found himself being held captive by stone hands wrapped around him. A distressed hiss left him as he couldn't move the hand still placed in his skorts. He hadn't reached his climax yet and now he was bound. After wiggling around and not being able to free himself, he tried to shape-shift, but stopped dead in his tracks as Edward's face was suddenly in front of his.

The flush was still present and the blonde was sweat-covered. "Envy," he moaned in that same tone of voice as before, but this time a smug smirk graced his features.

"You pretended?" The pure incredulity was pictured on Envy's face.

Edward inched closer to the homunculus' face, his breath tickling the green-haired hermaphrodite's skin. "Envy, stop teasing me."

"You sneaky, little runt!" Only seconds later the homunculus shape-shifted himself out of the stone holding him and charged at Edward.

Still weakened and drowsy, Edward wasn't able to dodge on time and felt sharp pain digging into his stomach. He heard his own blood splatter against the wall behind him and released a surprised choke. Standing upright was becoming a difficult chore and giving in to the reigns of unconsciousness seemed tempting.

Maniacal laughter were heard coming from the homunculus named after a sin.

Collecting all of his strength and willpower together, Edward forced his hands together, eliciting blue flashes as he pressed his hands to the floor once again.

Envy dodged the wall of stone approaching him easily and smirked, about to make a teasing remark, as he suddenly hit something with his back. After a sharp turn, he was faced with another, bigger stone wall that slammed onto him.

The Fullmetal Alchemist used that chance to dash forward and away from the alley. He rounded corners, passed ruins of houses and almost stumbled over the corpses lying here and there. What he was looking for? He searched for a way of escaping, something that would give him a chance to get away.

Would Mustang and Hughes come looking for him again? Would he run into them again?

After minutes of running around that felt like painful hours to Edward, his own blood was covering his stomach, running down his legs and into his still opened pants. His hard arousal, still present, was forgotten and replaced by the hot pain wrecking his mind. Finally, his chance of finding a way out showed itself in the form of an old phone booth. The glass windows were crashed, the walls dented, it's once bright colour faded and the receiver hanging loosely to the ground. Edward's heavy legs carried him to the booth and he let himself fall into the box. After taking a few breaths, he reached up and grabbed the telephone box hanging above him to pull himself up a little. With shaky fingers he dialed the number of the phone exchange.

The sound of ringing echoed through the shell and into the blonde's ears. Painful seconds passed, until finally someone picked up. Not even waiting for the rehearsed greeting, Edward spoke up.

"Connect me to the office of Roy Mustang. Hurry, please." Ragged breaths left him and breathing itself was becoming harder and harder. Darkness started to engulf him.

_"Sir, are you all right? Shouldn't I call an ambulance?"_

"Just connect me to him, okay!" Edward pressed his free hand onto the still bleeding wound in his left side and let himself slide down the wall of the booth, smearing his own blood on it. The floor beneath him was being covered by the crimson fluid streaming out of his body.

More painful and silent moments passed. Reluctantly, the teen closed his eyes and tried to concentrate his energy on breathing and talking. Then the liberating sound of the receiver being picked up again was heard.

_"Colonel Roy Mustang. What can I do for you?"_

Relief washed over Edward's mind and for a moment, he wasn't able to utter a single word. Only pained breaths were heard.

_"Who is this?" _The only thing Mustang heard was someone breathing heavily into the shell.

Finally, the teen found enough strength to answer. "C-Colonel…" he moaned huskily. _Shit! Those drugs still haven't worn off!_

"_What the... Did Chris tell you to call me? If so, tell her I'm not interested and that I don't need distraction from my work. Especially not this kind of distraction."_

_Why is it coming back like this? I've been fine until now, right? Maybe the adrenaline from being attacked suppressed the effects of the drug until now._ Again, Edward took a few deep breaths before answering. "It's me, Colonel."

_"What do you mean? How am I supposed to know– Wait, is that you, Fullmetal?_

"Man, you're slow. Guess you're old after all."

_"What happened? Where are you?"_

"I'll explain what happened later. I don't have much time left."

_"What do you mean by that?"_

"Just listen: I'm in a phone booth and by the looks of it, I'm in West City." He had to pause to suppress another moan, but his voice stayed strained as he continued. "I think I'm in a war area, but right now nothing's happening. The only things I see are ruins of houses and a destroyed fountain."

_"Stay where you are. We'll come and get you."_

"As if I could go anywhere."

_"Fullmetal… stay alive."_

Then the line went dead and Edward was left alone in the silence of the lone phone booth. The darkness engulfing him was so inviting. If he just gave in, would it be less painful?

* * *

Bleh, so annoying! I don't like to type on this big-ass laptop. Word always takes away my words. It even removed spaces from a German chapter I uploaded on Wednesday! Many spaces! And I still haven't gotten my new charger. Apparently, I'll be notified when it's being delivered. How about I tell you a little story?

On Thursday my mom went to an Apple Store to deliver my MacBook so they could do a few tests with the defected charger. I removed the battery beforehand so it wouldn't be as heavy, since my mom was supposed to go to work afterwards. As she reached the store, the clerk that was supposed to take care of her was pissed for some reason. He told her that they needed the battery of the MB to make the tests and my mom seems to have to refused, since she got provoked by the guy being all pissy. They argued and in the end, I brought the battery over later that day after school.

The next day, I went to the store again to get my MB back. I signed something regarding repayment and left after the clerk (not the pissy one) had given me some document. Wanna know what's written on that piece of crap? Technically, they accuse _me _of breaking the charger _on_ _purpose_! They also examined the MB and found scratches and bumps and because of that accused me of damaging it by letting it fall or something. On purpose! Note: I've owned my MB for a whole year already and am using it everyday. The document also says that the charger has been broken by mechanical influence. Uhhh... no! That fucking charger suddenly started to burn and smoke _on its own_! Well… after me twisting it around several times to adjust its wacky contact. So, now they refuse to do repair, even though we never asked for something like that.

Who wrote the document (containing several really stupid spelling and grammar mistakes)? The pissy clerk. How do you call that? Revenge FAIL! I still love Apple and everything they do! I'd never want anything else than my MacBook and iPod. In the end, I'll get my new charger without having to pay for a new one.

I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as possible, but it'll probably take its time.

Oh, I also started to draw, because I wasn't able to use the laptop all the time (had to share it). I'm drawing Jackson and Laura the way I imagine them. As soon as I get my MB running again, I'll put some colour on it, sign in on Deviant Art or something, and upload it there.

I'm thankful to everyone that's reviewing. Especially to those that review pretty much every chapter (everyone should know by now who is meant).

–Murasaki


	10. Haunted by Dreadful Pain

Gosh, this took me so long to finish. I think there was only one day where I wrote 1000 words straight. There were many distractions, okay! The one's I'm talking about know who I mean. Yeah, you! You're distracting me from important writing work, people! But I love you guys anyway. But bad stuff happened and it's changing everything for me from now on. If I told you what that was, it would require to explain something really complicated and I don't want to spam my own A/N.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter X  
– Haunted by Dreadful Pain –

The receiver was slammed down again with force.

"Who was that?" Hughes was closing the door he had come through.

Straightening up again, Mustang turned to his friend, relief washing over him. "Fullmetal called. He said he's somewhere in West City in a phone booth, but it seems he's seriously injured."

"Do you know where exactly he is?" With a few long strides, Hughes soon reached his friend, standing in front of the desk. "Did he say anything?"

"He said that he's seeing some ruins and a fountain. Bring me a map of West City and the reports about the war stakes. We need to find that fountain and the phone booth. Since there can be many of those, we have to determine which parts of the city have been destroyed by attacks so far that ruins have been created."

"Got it." Immediately after, Hughes was on his way, leaving the office in a hurry.

After his friend had left, Mustang released a breath he had been holding in. He placed his right hand on his hip, while the other covered his eyes. He clenched his fingers into a fist, but never dropped it, starting to restlessly walk along the wooden floor of his office. After a while, he dropped his hand from his face and hip and halted his restive movements, silently standing in the middle of his office. "Stay alive, Fullmetal," he muttered quietly. "Don't die… Edward."

Seconds later, Hughes came running down the corridor and into the office, holding a map and documents. In a fast pace, he reached Mustang and sprawled the map of Amestris onto the desk beside the Colonel, while placing the documents next to it. He pointed at a spot on the map that was circled in red and placed on the left side of Amestris. "This is West City." He moved on to the documents. "There are at least fifty-four past stakes reported in these documents, most of them having been located in the western regions, at the borders. Everything other than the areas around the borders to Creta is mostly intact, so Ed should be somewhere at these borders." From between some of the stake reports, Hughes pulled out a smaller and more detailed map. "This is the western part of West City. There are three fountains and at least twenty-one phone booths there. Most of the phone booths though should be destroyed and in a short distance to each fountain there is always at least one booth."

Mustang pointed at one of the marks on the map, indicating a fountain. "Accompany me to this one." He moved his finger away to another mark. "We're going to let the Lieutenant and Breda go to this one…" Again he moved away his index finger and rested it on the final mark, "and Falman and Fuery go here."

"Understood. I'll go inform them." Without waiting for a response, Hughes ran off again.

Hearing the door being shut once again, Mustang threw back his head and let a deep sigh escape from his throat. "Finally."

* * *

"From here on we will split up. Everyone knows where to go?" After seeing the nods from each of his subordinates, Mustang narrowed his eyes. "Find him." Not uttering any other words, he turned and ran into the direction the fountain was supposed to be, Hughes following after him.

They raced down the dusty paths, covered with remains of vehicles and corpses, past ruins of houses once lived in. Along broken down buildings, once having been admired. Together, they rounded corners and avoided to trip over the bodies littering the ground.

"This is horrible," Hughes muttered, a little breathless.

"There's no one to care for them," the Colonel replied. "Those who could are either dead or too afraid of coming here."

Sadness showed itself in Hughes' light-green eyes, but his voice became more enthusiastic again as he replied. "We're almost there."

After they had rounded the next corner, they were greeted by the sight of a still intact fountain. Apart from the fountain itself, everything was destroyed and in ruins. Street lights were lying broken on the ground, the wooden benches were apart and not a single window of any of the broken down houses was still whole. The intact fountain seemed like a miracle between all the destruction. Clear water was still flowing out of its top, running down at the sides and into the pool beneath. The soft, tripling sound of the water echoing into the silence had something peaceful and calming about it.

"So, where's this booth?" Mustang muttered, more to himself.

"If we follow the map, the next phone booth should be somewhere near here."

Stepping forward, the two men looked around and slowly neared the fountain with each step.

Suddenly, something in a nearby alley caught Hughes' attention. "Roy, I think it's over there!" He pointed into the direction he was looking.

In a split second, the Flame Alchemist was off, running towards the booth. Only seconds later he reached the cabin, but spotting the sight awaiting him, his once determined gaze faltered into a frown. Hastily he knelt down in front of the blood-covered and disheveled Edward, eyeing the teen cautiously.

A flush tinted the teen's cheeks in a pink colour and sweat still covered his abused body. The leather pants, covering his legs, were opened and skin was still peaking out of it.

"Fullmetal? Are you still conscious?" Frantically, the Colonel searched his subordinate's face for any signs of awareness, anything that would have indicated life still being present.

Only slowly did those amber eyes open. Still half-closed eyes were staring dully into the distance, seemingly not noticing Mustang's presence. The blood, covering the once white shirt, was starting to dry, tinting the material in a dark-red colour. More of the crimson wetness was covering the floor of the cabin, going as far as to flow outside, creating small paths of blood, streaming from the booth.

"Fullmetal? Can you hear me?" Worry mingled into the Colonel's relief of his subordinate being alive. "Damn, he's losing too much blood!"

Finally, the amber gaze was averted to Mustang and the teen just stared for a few seconds. "Took you long enough… Colonel Bastard." Edward's words were merely a hoarse whisper.

"Don't talk, you idiot. I'm going to get you out of here."

Hughes arrived and watched the scene worriedly. His lips turned into a frown as he watched his friend tearing open the material of Edward's shirt at the location of the injury. "What are you going to do?" He received no response and simply kept watching as the Flame Alchemist placed his gloved fingers upon the bleeding injury, snapped and produced a small flame from his fingertips.

Noticing the blood smeared across the cabin's wall at Edward's back, Mustang grabbed the blonde under his arms and carefully pulled him forward. Now the teen was leaning against his superior, face buried in the blue military jacket. "He got stabbed through. Hughes, hold up his shirt for me." Mustang had to support Edward and at the same time prevent him from falling back again, so only one of his hands was free.

Not wasting any time, Hughes walked over to the pair and knelt down beside the injured teen. As instructed, he lifted Edward's blood-stained shirt and held it up, cringing at the sight of the bleeding gash in the teen's side.

Another snap was heard and another flame was produced from gloved fingers.

With narrowed eyes, the spectacled man eyed the now scarred wound. "For how long will this last?"

"A while. But he'll have to be treated properly at a hospital. I didn't burn the wound closed, but only scarred the skin so it wouldn't be raw and open. Since the injury isn't that large and is just bleeding a lot, I think this will help for a while."

After noticing his friend shooting him a telling glare, Hughes stepped up and helped Mustang to pick up the Fullmetal Alchemist.

After a while, they had managed to place Edward on the back of the Colonel, avoiding moving him around too much.

Carefully, Mustang carried his now unconscious subordinate on his back towards the cars, while Hughes notified the others. Several minutes passed in which the two men passed the same buildings and ruins as before in silence, until they reached the black cars and Mustang's subordinates awaiting them. Each of them tried to avoid looking at the blood-stained teen being carried by their superior. Again, Hughes was the one to help Mustang placing Edward on the back seat of one of the cars. This time though, there was no need to see the bruises and cuts covering the teen's body in order to know about the injuries and how they had been inflicted.

* * *

The sound of metal hitting the tiles of the floor echoed from the white walls. Plates of metal hit against each other as Alphonse rushed down the corridor of the hospital crowded by only few people. Mustang had called him and notified him about Edward being in the hospital again. He hadn't even known that his brother had been kidnapped again! Of course he had been worrying about Edward not calling and nobody telling him where he was. Everyone had kept silent about it. Pushing aside his anger and disappointment about not being trusted, Alphonse soon reached the group of soldiers and the doctor standing in front of his brother's room.

As the Colonel noticed Alphonse's presence, he averted his gaze away from the armor's face holding those red glowing eyes. Even though he knew that the boy couldn't show any facial expressions, he knew that looking at the younger Elric brother, he would see the disappointment and worry in the helmet's eyes.

"Now that everyone's assembled…" Dr. Noah Walker was standing in front of the soldiers and Alphonse, holding a clipboard in his pale hands. "Apparently, Edward-kun has been raped again."

Mustang clenched his fists, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. "We guessed so. How bad is it?"

Dr. Walker looked through the papers clipped to his board and sighed. "It's worse than the last time. The tears in the rectal and anal area that he received in the first incident just started to heal, but now they have been re-opened and got worse. He also has wounds on his back and stomach that look like deep scratches. As if someone dragged his nails along his skin with a lot of pressure. He's covered in bruises again."

"We weren't able to protect him," the Colonel muttered, staring at the floor.

"It's not your fault," the doctor replied quietly. "You weren't the one to rape him after all. But there's one thing that surprised me: Judging by the state he has been in as he was brought here, Edward has been given drugs, probably an aphrodisiac to make him more submissive. Those drugs also made it difficult to stabilize Edward's circulatory system. From what you told me, he has been walking around quite a bit and, considering the injuries he has received, it's nearly impossible to walk without having to endure a massive amount of pain. He doesn't seem like he's been given any pain killers, so he can't possibly have moved around without being in unendurable pain."

"He's a soldier," Mustang replied coldly. "That's why he's used to pain and able to endure it when necessary. He's too stubborn to give up his goals because of injuries and pain."

"He's still a child!" Dr. Walker cut in harshly. "Being a soldier can't be an excuse for him walking around, despite being severely injured. It's impossible!"

Mustang narrowed his eyes at the shocked doctor. "He's the Fullmetal Alchemist for a reason, Doctor."

With a huff, Dr. Walker returned to looking at his clipboard. "It's the same as last time: There is semen on and inside of him as well as the blood and dirt. He has been pierced through his left abdomen with a sharp object and we successfully closed the wound. May I ask who burned that wound?" Even though the question was directed at everyone standing nearby, the doctor's gaze was fixed only on Mustang.

The raven-haired man refused to avert his own gaze away from the balding doctor. "I did. It seemed to be the most reasonable solution to me in that situation."

An exasperated huff was released by the middle-aged man. "You made the right decision. By scarring the wound, the bleeding was stopped temporarily. If you wouldn't have done that, Edward probably would have bled to death by the time he got here."

Mustang's gaze remained unchanging as his features brightened a little. "He will be all right then?"

A small, sad smile made its way to the doctor's face. "Yes, I think so. Though the tears will take longer to heal this time. He shouldn't leave the bed for a while and also should avoid moving around in general for a few days. Otherwise he will risk a dangerous infection. Right now, he is still unconscious and until tomorrow, he definitely won't wake up. His body is a mess and he is completely exhausted, so he needs his rest. I would recommend you to come over tomorrow."

At those words, Hughes stepped up with urgency. "Can't at least Alphonse see him?"

Dr. Walker soundly released a puff of air through his nose, while eyeing first Hughes, then the armor. "I think that's okay, as long as you don't wake him up or move him, Alphonse-kun."

One could see how the glow in Alphonse's eyes brightened up. "Thank you, Doctor!" he called happily. Immediately, he was off and walking past the door to his brother's room.

After following the boy with his eyes, Dr. Walker turned back again to the group of soldiers. "I will see you tomorrow then?"

On the Colonel's face a smile spread. "Of course."

"I wanted to thank you for helping us out back there." A sincere smile graced Dr. Walker's face now. "If it weren't for you, then we wouldn't have been able to treat many patients properly." The elderly man reached out one of his hands, covered in wrinkled skin.

The Flame Alchemist accepted the man's hand with a widening smile. "It's my way of repaying you."

The two men smiled warmly at each other. A feeling of peace reigned over the silent group, as the soldier and the doctor parted ways again.

* * *

_Suddenly, Laura grabbed his wrists and leaned her smiling face towards his. "From now on, we are a family, Edo-kun. We will live together, help each other and… love each other. Just like in every other family."_

Once again, Edward was trapped in another dreadful dream. He was thrashing around on the hospital bed, not wanting to relive the events in captivity, in the hands of Jackson and his wife.

_Husband and wife exchange looks and soon Laura began unbuttoning the teen's shirt._

Cold sweat started to cover the bruise-covered body of the blonde.

_"Don't forget our deal, Edo-kun," he mumbled in a low, threatening voice. "It involves me as well as my wife, so be an obedient, little soldier and do as I say."_

Violent shivers racked Edward's injured body.

_More delighted chuckles fell from Laura's mouth, as she had succeeded in undressing the teen. _

Trembling hands clenched into white sheets, nails dug through the material into flesh, breaking skin, colouring the sheets crimson.

_Only seconds later, Laura slammed down onto the squirming teen beneath her and impaled herself on Edward's length. A loud moan sounded from her lips and she dug her nails into Edward's sun-kissed skin._

The sleeping Fullmetal Alchemist braced himself for what was to come next.

* * *

One could see the lust and desire in Jackson's eyes growing at each second of watching. The bulge in his pants as well gained in size, pleading to be freed from its painful prison. The man only needed mere seconds to make his decision. The Cretan soldier rose from his chair and approached his wife and his victim with a smug smirk.

Hearing her husband's steps while nearing her peak, Laura slightly averted her pleasure-glazed eyes to meet Jackson's gaze. An anticipating smile crept onto her face, as she suddenly flipped them over so Edward was above her. She wrapped her legs around the teen's hips, immobilizing him, and waited for her husband to join.

Hastily the man unbuckled his military pants and pulled them down, his undergarments following soon after. As his pants and underwear hung around his knees, Jackson enjoyed the sight of his wife's and his victim's joined bodies. He crawled onto the creaking bed, positioning himself behind Edward. One last time, he let his already sweaty hands travel over the boy's bruised skin. He watched Laura as well letting her hands travel over the blonde's back. Not able to wait any longer, Jackson slammed his hardened member into the teen, ignoring the gasps of pain and muffled screams, coming from Edward. For a moment he enjoyed the feeling of the teen's walls clenching around him, trying to force him out. He still was only half-way in and in spite tried to force his way past those walls into the inviting warmth. The wounds, still unhealed, caused Edward's entrance to be tighter than before and the man's smirk grew wider at the teen's resistance still not wavering, even though it was unconsciously.

Edward felt his walls trying to push the man out, but it was completely futile. Nothing saved him from the man forcing himself further into the blonde. Nothing saved him from the pain rushing through his whole body. Nothing saved him from the feeling of being dirtied and defiled. Beneath him, Laura was gasping and writhing from the teen's involuntary thrusts caused by Jackson slamming in and out of him, forcing the Fullmetal Alchemist to thrust in and out of the moaning woman. With shaky arms he held himself up and as far away from the woman as possible, but only seconds later his arms ceased to hold him up and he fell down onto Laura, eliciting a much loader and needier moan from her.

Laura enjoyed the feeling of being filled by the young alchemist and having the boy's skin rub against hers. Edward lay on her while she met each thrust with her own hips, the brunette placing her hands on the teen's back. As she finally reached her climax, thrashing and whimpering, she dug her nails into the soft skin and dragged them along Edward's back, being suffused by bliss.

Just seconds later, both adults reached their peak with loud screams of pleasure, arching their backs and Jackson releasing his semen into Edward.

"Fullmetal!"

_Help me…_

"Fullmetal, come on! Wake up!"

_Save me!_

"Fullmetal!"

Amber eyes snapped open and with a jolt, Edward sat upright, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Violent shivers made him tremble and pants of hitched breath left him.

Mustang reached out one hand to place it one of Edward's shaking shoulders. "Fullmetal, calm down. I–" His hand was slapped away by the teen that didn't even look at him.

"Don't touch me," the blonde whispered in a hiss. "Leave me alone."

"Lay back down! You're injured, Fullmetal." Again, the raven-haired man attempted to place a hand on Edward's shoulder to push the teen down, but stopped mid-way as he watched the blonde's tears not stopping to flow and the shivers becoming more violent. "Fullmetal…"

Trying to suppress the trembles, Edward wrapped his arms around himself. "Just go and leave me alone. I'm fine."

With shock-widened eyes, the Colonel noticed the blood starting to cover the side of Edward's shirt. The teen's wound had re-openend. For a second the older alchemist didn't know where to look. At Edward's tear-filled eyes, his shaking shoulders, the spot where the white hospital gown was tinted crimson, or just away from his subordinate. He didn't know. Ignoring the blonde's earlier protests, Mustang stepped closer to the bed and gripped the teen's shoulders, pushing him down onto the white sheets. "You're not fine! So lay down and stay here while I go get a doctor."

With a weak attempt at a scowl, Edward grabbed the man's arms and tried to push him away. But in vain. "Told you I'm fine. Leave me alone!" With a little more force, he was able to push the man away a little, his tears having ceased from the surprise and growing anger.

Mustang easily pushed the teen back down, pinning his subordinate's arms onto the sheets next to Edward's head. "You're definitely not fine." His grip around the blonde's wrists tightened and he leaned over the blonde, hovering right above the still shaking teen.

A look of utter fear settled itself in amber eyes as Edward eyed the man above him. The onyx eyes staring at him were filled with fury and annoyance. "D-Don't–"

"What are you going to do, huh? Defend yourself, fight back, do _something_!" Mustang pushed down own Edward's wrists, never letting his furious glare falter.

New tears collected at the brim of the Fullmetal Alchemist's eyes, threatening to flow again. Realising this, Edward shut his eyes closed and turned his head away, so the Colonel wouldn't see him cry. _Again_. "G-Get away from me," he whispered almost too quietly to hear. Slowly, he opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at his superior with tear-filled eyes. "Please… just go away."

Narrowing his eyes one last time at his subordinate, Mustang released Edward's wrists and backed away. Regret started to nag at his mind as he watched the teen turn away to the side, shaking and crying silently again.

* * *

So… another negative thing: I won't be able to post anything during the next week, since I'm going on a class trip to Prague. But I will spend some time on planning future chapters, so I won't be so easily distracted… like this whole week. When exactly the next chapter will be finished is something I really can't determine. I'll try my best though.

Now something positive: I've finished the pictures of Jackson and Laura! I uploaded them on my deviantART page. (Edit: The pics are reeeeeeeeally crappy for my current standards, so I took out the links. If you want to laugh at my noobiness, there's a link to my deviantART profile in my FFN profile page, though I'm not sure if I deleted the TAoB pics yet.)

Big Thank-You's to all of those that read and review. And extra-big hugs to **Ren-tan**, **Anie-chan**, **Shadow-kun**, **Ice-chan **(the-ice-cold-alchemist), **B-chan** (brz) and *drum-roll* **Pandora-chan**! If anyone knows Pandora Hearts, then I would like to recommend her story Useless. Hmmm… maybe I'll do this more often… recommending stories. Read The Room by 9shadowcat9! I'm beta-ing that great story! I also wrote a crack-fic together with 9shadowcat9, called Pancake Wars. Jackson appears in it!

–Murasaki


	11. Night's Clutches

I'm back home in Berlin again! And I have another chapter in tow! Yay! _(A/N: That was on Saturday, now I'm in Greece XD)_

Gosh, it was soooo exhausting. We ran through Prague for hours, looking at some memorials and synagogues. We also went to Theresienstadt and a village called Lidice. The whole village has been burned down and the citizens have been killed by Nazis, just because two of the citizens had been suspected to have assisted in the assassination of Heyderich. The man were shot, the woman taken to concentration camps, the children gassed. Only few people survived. Everyone in my class was all depressed afterwards, some saying they couldn't believe how people can be so cruel. I didn't. I left that field that once was a village and felt completely normal. It's not that I didn't feel anything, it just didn't affect me. I guess experiencing bullying and death at a young age like I did kinda toughens you up against stuff like that. I know how cruel people can be and I know life can be a bitch sometimes… I'm also an extremely realistic person. (And yes, I'm still fifteen XD.)

But this is something that makes me hate being German. Being German is connected to the past so much. You can't live your life as a German without being confronted with the past at some point. Some people can deal with it, some can't. Because I don't want to make my life depending on the past, but on the presence, I don't let myself be affected by the past.

And… there was a fucking Green Day concert in Prague! With Billy Talent as opening act! Green Day and Billy Talent! Our teacher would've allowed us to stay until 11pm, but our second teacher disagreed and we didn't go at all! I missed an Open Air concert with Green Day and Billy Talent because of my dumbass teacher! But nobody from my class disagreed! They don't have any taste for music, so they just didn't care! I would've gone alone, but my teachers wouldn't let me DDX.

Just enjoy the new chapter and ignore my awkward talking! I also went through past chapters and corrected some mistakes. Enjoy! ;D

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XI  
– Night's Clutches –

Two weeks had passed since Edward had been found and freed out of Jackson's grasp, but he was still far away from being fully healed. The bruises covering his body were stil visible, having turned a dark-yellow colour. The deep cuts running along his stomach and back were still aching and his backside was giving him a hard time. The tears caused him to limp, even though he was desperately trying to hide it. The only ones knowing what had really happened to him were Mustang and his subordinates, Alphonse and the court-martial. Everyone else was told that Major Elric had been involved in an intense fight, where he had received severe injuries. Now he was walking along the endless-seeming corridor, leading to the Colonel's office, who had summoned him once again. The Fullmetal Alchemist had been released from hospital a day before and Mustang wanted to have _a talk_ with the teen.

Still aching all over, Edward dragged himself past the several doors until he reached the right one. An annoyed sigh left him, as he opened the door, a hiss following as hot pain shot throughout his back. He was greeted with the raven-haired man glaring up at him from his desk with a frown plastered on his forehead.

"You are late, Fullmetal." Mustang's gaze was unreadable. Cold and calculating, watching the blonde walking towards him. But instead of an irate remark, the Colonel just received a short, weak scowl, before the teen carefully let himself fall into the couch in front of the desk. "I have a few matters to discuss with you."

"Oh, I can't contain my excitement." Edward's voice was hoarse and weak.

The Colonel narrowed his eyes at noticing his subordinate's weak attempt of his usual behaviour. "There are still some things that are unclear, regarding your abduction and liberation. I wanted to give you some time to deal with everything, before asking you this: What exactly happened?"

Not one single moment did Edward look at his superior and instead stared at a corner left to Mustang. He released a huff before answering. "Jackson sneaked in here, knocked me out, took me to some hide-out, raped me, took me to another hide-out, then one of the homunculi appeared and _saved_ me."

"Which homunculus saved you and with what intention?"

"The one that can change his appearance, Envy. He saved me to prevent me from being killed. They still need me for their plan, as a so-called _sacrifice_." The blonde lowered his gaze a little, but still didn't look at the Colonel.

The Flame Alchemist folded his hands under his chin, never leaving his subordinate's face with his gaze. "What happened to Jackson?"

"Don't know. I was dizzy from the drug and only saw a vague figure falling, probably after fighting with Envy. Wether he's dead or alive I don't know."

Mustang furrowed his brows in displease. "So, he might still be alive. Then we should act as if he's still alive and be cautious. Did the homunculus just let you go?"

"No. He attacked me at some point and I fought him. Because I was drugged, I couldn't dodge in time and got injured."

"What happened to the homunculus?"

A seemingly exasperated sigh left the teen. "Don't know. I ran until I reached the phone booth and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."

Finally, the Colonel dropped his gaze and stared at the floor in front of his desk. "I see. This clears most things, but there is still one thing I can't explain." The man shot a heated glare at the Fullmetal Alchemist. "Why didn't you escape or try to escape on your own?"

"I tried to–"

"Don't lie to me!" With a jolt Mustang stood upright, sending the chair he had sat on just a second ago to the floor, his palms hitting the desk. "We've been to the bunker Jackson took you to, but there weren't any signs of an alchemical reaction happening! You could have easily freed yourself from that room and escaped, but you didn't even try!"

"I-I was–"

Mustang tried to calm himself a little, but his voice was still stricken with suppressed rage. "Why didn't you resist, Fullmetal?" he hissed in a low voice.

The teen dropped his head, his bangs shadowing his features.

"Tell me!" The older alchemist leaned forward onto his desk, not able to contain his anger and disappointment any longer. "Tell me why you didn't do anything and let yourself be raped! Did you enjoy it? Did you have fun?"

"Of course I didn't!" Edward yelled back.

"Then tell me why you didn't do anything!"

"Che." Again, the blonde's head dropped and he kept silent.

"Fullmetal!"

"He fucking threatened me!" Angered amber eyes glared at the Colonel, as Edward shot the man a devastated look.

Now Mustang was the one to drop his head. He silently stepped backwards, reached down to pick up the chair and sat down again, letting his head fall into one hand, his arms resting on his desktop. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"It was part of the deal," was the teen's muttered reply.

The Colonel's head shot up again with an incredulous look etched onto the man's features. "You made a deal with him?"

A silent nod from the blonde was the only answer.

"What did he know?"

"He knew about Al and me. That we've attempted human transmutation and failed. He said that if I resisted he would tell everyone."

The Flame Alchemist shook his head in denial. "You should've told me anyway," he whispered, but his voice once again rose in volume. "Don't you have _any _trust in me?"

Edward flinched as his superior started to yell at him.

"I'm supposed to protect you as your superior officer! How am I supposed to protect you if you don't tell me anything?"

With an angry hiss the blonde gritted his teeth. "What would you have done in my situation?" he yelled back.

"I would've told someone, of course!"

"It would have only affected you and no one else. You don't have a brother trapped in an armor, his soul bound by only a seal written in blood that can be easily wiped away! Jackson knew about Al and could've easily erased him! If he's able to sneak up on me and kidnap me, then he definitely would've been able to catch Al and wipe the seal away!"

"Is that what he threatened to do?"

"No, but–"

"Then what were you afraid of?"

"I don't have to justify my actions, fucking bastard! I do what I want and won't let anybody tell me how to do things! Especially not some useless Colonel like you!" The blonde angrily snarled at his superior, before jolting up from the couch, ignoring the wretched pain the action caused. He walked off, suppressing the tears and groans of pain. He flung open the large door and, after walking out, smashed it close with a loud burst. Each step caused him unbearable pain and he felt some of the healing cuts, lining his skin, burning and aching. He cast the fear of his stomach wound opening again aside and marched down the corridor, a scowl covering his face. He walked past soldiers and secretaries, each of them sending him wondering looks and greetings, but he silently passed by them. He soon reached the gates of Headquarters and only after he was outside did his scowl falter, but didn't disappear. Finally, the teen reminded himself of his injuries and slowed his pace.

The setting sun tinted the sky in an orange color, only a few, thin clouds hovering around. Some street lamps were already turned on. Central was preparing for a new night.

His hands, flesh and automail, shoved into his pockets, Edward walked down sidewalks, not knowing where to go. Al probably was at home, about to make food, but the alchemist didn't feel ready yet to go. Even though he wouldn't want it, he knew he would release his anger on his younger brother, so he tried to find a different way of lifting his bad mood.

Seconds passed. Minutes passed.

The blonde soon found himself walking around Central for an hour already, not knowing where he was. The sun had completely disappeared behind the horizon, the clutches of a dark night-sky now reigning over the town.

As the teen looked around, he spotted dilapidated stores, flickering street lights and homeless people, sitting and standing together in an alley to his right. He felt even more out-standing than usually now, with his flashy red coat he was so fond of. The three men, clad in torn and filthy clothes, glared at him as he passed by, unsettling the blonde and causing Edward to fasten his pace again. Who knew what they would do to him?

Slowly, the teen felt tiredness creeping into his fibres, causing him to lazily drag his steps across the ground.

Women, standing not far from him at the sidewalk, came into view. They wore skimpy clothes and way too much make-up was covering their faces. At spotting the teen approaching them, they shot him lascivious looks and seductively let their hips roll, high heels clanking against the ground, as they walked up to him, the skin of their stomachs exposed to the dim light of the street lamps.

Immediately, Edward tensed up as the women, one dark-haired and one blond, stood right in front of him, both looking down at him.

"You look stressed," one of them purred. "Want me to help you loosen up?" Half of her bosom was standing prone to the cold night air.

The other female's womanhood was barely covered by flimsy, red material. Was she even wearing underwear? By the looks of it, she didn't. "Nice Shoes. Wanna fuck, boy?"

"N-No." Ignoring the women, that definitely wanted into his pants, Edward walked off as fast as possible, trying to gain as much distance from the horny woman as possible.

They were unsettling him.

Each person that went past him, each person that looked at him, they all were potential threats. The man, holding hands with a woman, laughing happily, the old lady, smiling at him, the group of drunk men that yelled poor pick-up lines after the blonde, mistaking him for a girl in their drunken stupor. They all were potential threats.

His pace quickened and his wounds started to ache again. They were burning, stinging, shooting sensations of pain throughout his body. The faces of the people walking by slowly blurred, until he didn't acknowledge them anymore. Ignoring their presence, ignoring their existence.

His legs kept him walking along the sidewalk. He felt as if he was dreaming, as if it wasn't his own body that moved, as if he was just a spectator to his own actions. He didn't perceive his environment, didn't see the light shining through some of the house's windows, didn't notice the people worriedly looking after him, didn't see where he was walking. The sound of people talking happily with each other didn't reach him, neither did the echo of the dog's bark or the drunken man's swearing.

Out of nowhere, a sensation caught his attention. Something was tightening around him, his clothes were getting heavier and at the same time tighter. His skin burned of the cold hitting him. What was happening?

He couldn't grasp what exactly was going on, so he kept ignoring it. To drive away the cold, he wrapped his bruised arms around himself and felt more bleakness radiating from his chilled body.

Suddenly, a shudder ran from Edward's neck and spread throughout his whole body over his spine. An eery feeling of something drilling into the back of his neck caused him to widen his tired eyes in fear. The amber orbs showed the dread running through the boy, the anxiety written all over the teen's face.

Keeping his pace, the blonde clawed his gloved hands into his arms, trying to force the feeling away, but it accompanied him with each step, hovered all around him, engulfing him in the darkness of trepidation.

Something watching him, something chasing him. _Someone_ following him.

Light shivers shook his body, but the teen kept walking.

He didn't notice how he was walking into a secluded alley, away from the few people occupying the sidewalk, didn't see the street lights slowly fading, until the white moonlight was the only thing illuminating his way.

There still was something boring into the back of his neck, like probing eyes, searching and haunting him. The thrill and the adrenaline rushing his mind awakened him a little out of his dreamy state and Edward noticed the shadows around him.

So much darkness, so much danger.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks, as a low whisper sounded and echoed from the walls beside him. An unintelligible whisper, incomprehensible words.

_"E… o… un."_

By now Edward could finally make out some syllables. Seemingly out of nowhere, a voice was calling. Calling with an eery tone.

_"Ed… o… kun."_

_That voice!_

The teen recognized that voice! He would've recognized it out of ten-thousands!

_Jackson! He's following me!_

He wanted to run, wanted to escape! But neither his brain nor his body obeyed his desires. He stood there, as if his feet had coalesced with the ground beneath him. The cold hit him again, lashing at his face, causing his bangs to flutter around his paled face.

His legs were becoming weaker, robbed off of strength, until they couldn't keep him up any longer and he fell to the ground, onto his knees, his arms still tightly wrapped around himself.

For a few moments, he sat like that on the ground, hugging himself. But soon after, he fell forward and leaned onto his hands, frantically looking around for the source of the voice. It had silenced.

But there were shadows again. Dark, engulfing shadows. Was one of them moving? Hadn't there been a form moving in the darkness of those shadows?

Slowly, with shock-widened amber eyes, Edward let his head drop to the ground.

There was this coldness again. It collected at the spots where his legs and hands touched the ground. It felt awkward, out of place, unnatural.

Something warm suddenly rested on his shoulders and he was swayed back and forth.

No.

He was being shaken.

"Fullmetal! Get out of it!"

"Wha…" For some reason his bangs were clinging to his forehead, as Edward lifted his face again. Still dazed amber eyes were faced with onyx ones. "Colonel? What…"

A relieved sigh left the man. "I found you sitting here in the rain. What do you think you were doing?"

_Rain?_

Was that the thing that was causing this awkward feeling? This feeling of his clothes tightening and becoming heavier around him? The cold hitting him and surrounding him? Was it wind that was lashing at his face?

_He's right! It's raining! My clothes got wet and cold, so that's why they felt weird. I'm drenched! But…_

Without a warning, the blonde's arms were grabbed and the Colonel carefully pulled him up-right. A small yelp escaped the teen, as his stomach wound ached once again. "Were you the one following me?" With a not-so-accusing look the teen glared at the older man.

"I didn't. The Lieutenant and I did go out to search for you, but I found you just now. Why are you asking?"

Realising that the Colonel was still holding his arms, Edward pulled away and suppressed yet another flinch of pain. "Just had this feeling. Guess I over-reacted a little." A huff left him, as he avoided the Flame Alchemist's questioning gaze, his lips curled into a frown. The feeling of looming eyes boring at the back of his mind had completely vanished. To assure himself, Edward casted a glance at the shadows again. They had disappeared, distributed by the black car's headlights, belonging to the Colonel.

His anguish must have shown itself on the blonde's face, because Mustang had gained worry-shadowed features as he watched his subordinate, looking around with fear, as if an enemy was about to hop out from behind the next corner. "Let's get back to Headquarters."

Another yelp of surprise was released by the Fullmetal Alchemist, as he was harshly pulled out of his train of dreaded thoughts. After a last quick glance, he nodded.

As the two males left the alley and entered the brightly illuminated street again, Edward spotted Hawkeye waiting at Mustang's black car.

To most people, Hawkeye's expression would have seemed unchanging, but Edward could see a hint of worry in her observing hazel eyes as she eyed the teen.

The three soldiers entered the vehicle silently and only as Edward was surrounded by the dry and warm air of the car, he noticed how wet and cold he actually was, causing shivers to once again shake his body. He was seated in the backseat, while Hawkeye was occupying the steering wheel and Mustang sat beside her on the passenger seat.

Silence kept reigning over the occupants of the vehicle and the car-ride continued with no one uttering a single word.

They needed thirty-seven minutes until they finally reached Headquarters. It made clear to Edward how long he must have aimlessly wandered around Central.

Edward went off to the dorms, where his brother would have been waiting for him, and Mustang and Hawkeye silently let the teen leave, heading for the Colonel's office. They were starting to get used to these kind of _situations._

* * *

The following day, Edward had been summoned – _again _– to his superior's office. It was early noon and Headquarters was as busy as always.

His wounds weren't aching and burning as much now, after Edward had used the ointment Dr. Walker had given him. Why hadn't he used it earlier? Oh, yes! Because one ingredient of the ointment was milk. Alphonse had finally succeeded in talking his brother into using the medicine, after Edward had loudly refused to touch anything containing 'the damned stuff that comes out of a cow'.

So the blond teen walked down the familiar corridor again, passed the outer office in front of the Colonel's office, and was greeted by Mustang's subordinates. Since Havoc had been released from hospital that day, he was present too, an unlit cigarette between his teeth and grinning at his superior.

Then he stood in front of the large oak door. Reluctantly and frowning, he opened the door and stepped into the sun-lit room.

The Colonel was seated behind his desk, Hawkeye standing next to him. Not quite knowing what to do, Edward cluelessly stood in the middle of the room, in front of Mustang. The teen nervously fidgeted around, afraid what his superior was about to say. Would he yell at him again? Question him further or even hit him?

"Fullmetal."

The teen immediately straightened up as Mustang rose his voice. "Yeah?"

The man sighed and tiredly swept a hand over his pale face. "Why were you walking around in the rain? At _night_."

Edward's frown deepened a little, as the Flame Alchemist shot him a questioning look. "That's none of your business."

"As long as you are my subordinate, it _is _my business."

"Che. Afraid you're reputation as Colonel might be dirtied, because of some stupid subordinate not listening to you?"

"Fullmetal! This is something you can't just–"

The older alchemist was interrupted by the sound of something hitting wood. A person was knocking at the office's door.

_"Colonel?" _a hesitant voice sounded from behind the wooden door. It belonged to Fuery's.

The frown left the raven-haired man's face a little. "What's the matter?"

_"Here's someone that wants to talk to you. It's about Edo-kun's case."_

Now the frown completely faltered from Mustang's face. "Let him in."

Only seconds later, Fuery opened the door, a man standing next to him. Behind the man stood two other, younger men. They all wore the blue military uniform of Amestris, so they were soldiers.

The first man wore an unreadable, yet smug expression on his aging features. He couldn't have been older than fourty-five though, his light-brown hair only showing a few white strands. Three golden stars were placed atop each of his shoulders.

Mustang's eyes widened slightly in realisation. _A Colonel!_

The three unknown men stepped in, the Colonel striding along the floor with almost graceful steps. As he reached the couch, his smirk widened at eyeing Edward now sitting on the furniture. "Good evening, Major." He averted his gaze away to the other Colonel behind the desk. "Colonel. I am Colonel Nemon Whelan. I believe there are some disruptions, concerning my subordinate Lieutenant Colonel Draigen Jackson."

"He disappeared, after being court-martialed for violating my subordinate Edward Elric," Mustang replied calmly.

"Indeed." Even though those were heavy accusations against his subordinate, Whelan didn't seem concerned at all. "I have known my subordinate for quite a while now and I just cannot believe Jackson would commit any crime like that."

Onyx eyes narrowed and the Flame Alchemist shot the older Colonel an expecting glare, while Edward and Hawkeye silently watched, the Fullmetal Alchemist scowling at the older Colonel.

"I believe my subordinate is the victim in this case, Sir." Only slightly and almost not visible did the corners of Whelan's lips quirk up at seeing the other's displeased expression.

As Mustang replied, his expression kept unchanging. "Are you saying you believe that my subordinate has committed a crime against your subordinate, _Sir_?"

"Exactly."

Anger slightly shadowed Mustang's features. "What kind of crime would that be?"

Whelan folded his hands behind his back. "I accuse him of killing my subordinate and his wife. Laura Jackson's corpse has been found in an abandoned bunker near West City. There is also blood in another room that can't possibly belong to Laura Jackson, since there aren't any blood tracks. I believe Major Elric killed Jackson and his wife and disposed of my subordinate's corpse."

Jolting upward, a scowl formed on Edward's face. "What the hell are you talking–"

"Fullmetal!"

A warning glare was shot at the blonde by Mustang and the teen obediently sat down again, feeling his wounds aching yet again.

"That's nonsense, Sir." Mustang shot an anger-stricken glare at the other Colonel. "A doctor has confirmed the injuries of my subordinate being caused by someone raping him. He also doesn't have any motive that would have caused him to kill Jackson and his wife."

"I believe that to be true," Whelan replied. "But that doesn't prove my subordinate being the culprit. Jackson didn't have a motive to attack Major Elric either. What evidence do you have for his supposed crime? You have absolutely no right to accuse my subordinate of such a crime, without having solid evidence."

"The evidence is my subordinate's testimony. He clearly identified Jackson as the culprit. At the time of the crime, Jackson was one of those to be present at the crime scene. He also was the last one seen together with my subordinate prior to the crime. There were five other suspects, but those had their alibis confirmed by other persons. Jackson is the only one without an alibi at the time of the crime. He's the one most likely to have committed the crime."

"Do you have solid evidence?" Whelan's still smug expression started to show signs of him knowing that he held the strings over the situation. He had the upper hand and he knew it.

"I don't, Sir."

The smug smirk on Whelan's face grew indiscernibly. "I accuse your subordinate of a crime and you accuse mine. We both don't have solid evidence, so there's no use in having this matter dealt by the court-martial. How about we forget about all this and just move on with our lives without any complications?"

Mustang furrowed his brows in uprising anger. "I won't just forget about this. I can't just ignore what happened to my subordinate."

"I fully understand your doubts, Sir." No matter what was said, Whelan's smug expression never faltered. "But the order to arrest Jackson has already been withdrawn on my behalf. Right now, I am occupied with finding my disappeared subordinate, dead or alive. If we find him alive, then I hope he will be able to assimilate the death of his wife in peace, without being court-martialed for a crime he definitely hasn't committed. Since I need to continue said search, I'm saying 'Good-Bye' at this point." A small bow was made by the middle-aged man, the two dark-haired soldiers simultaneously mimicking his action. Whelan eyed Edward a last time, before walking out of the room, his much younger subordinates following after him.

Just as the door was closed by Fuery behind them, the two young men turned and looked straight at Edward. They shot awkward looks at him. What was it they felt as they eyed the teen? Was it really pity what the blonde saw in their gazes? Were they pitying him? Did they know what exactly had happened to him?

The door shut closed with a loud bang and the sound of Mustang leaning back into his seat was heard.

Edward slumped a little into his seat, amber and distraught eyes widening.

Was this the punishment for his deeds?

* * *

Oooh, a long chapter :D. Sorry for the long wait. Promiňte!

I decided to make weekly updates from now on, so one chapter each week. It's not that I don't like this story anymore (I love to write for this story!), but it just takes all of my writing-time. There are at least five stories I've started, but haven't continued, because I'm always occupied with this story. So, from now on I'll update on Fridays. I hope everyone can cope with that ;D.

I need you guys to help me! I really want to reach 100 reviews with this story. It's the goal I've been trying to reach since I started to write fan-fiction almost three months ago. To write a story that reaches 100 reviews.

I'm thinking about giving the 100th reviewer a reward, like writing a story for that person. The 100th reviewer can make a request, wish, whatever, as long as it's fitting for a One Shot. I'll also give the person that writes the most reviews this kind of award too, besides the ones I've already decided to reward. I'll post a story, in which I will upload thank-you chapters. The ones I will definitely reward for their loyalty are: **Shadow-kun** (9shadowcat9), **Ren-tan** (Renkin-chan), **Anie-chan** (just anie6142) and **B-chan **(brz). You guys can send me a request from now on and I'll write a 'Thank-You One Shot' for you ;D. As long as it's fitting for a one-chapter-story, I'll write everything you want.

Benze ;P


	12. Recurrence of Confusing Grief

I can't quite tell if Greece is giving me inspiration, or if it's robbing it off of me. People say they get inspired by traveling to different countries, but it doesn't affect me at all. I've been too Greece twice already, can't remember anything of it cause I was too young, yet I still don't feel overwhelmed at seeing the beach, the ocean and small islands rising from the horizon from our room. I guess I'm not easily impressed with traveling anymore. We're going to beaches each year after all. Ah well… I'm weird, so don't bother figuring out my twisted mind ;D. Je to beznadějné stejně XD.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XII  
– Recurrence of Confusing Grief –

"I think he went over there!" Edward quickly transmuted his automail arm into a razor-sharp blade, while passing citizens and trying not to cut them.

"At least no one's panicking. Isn't he afraid of someone catching him?" Even though his soul was placed in a bulky armor, Alphonse was able to swiftly move past the people crowding the street.

"The public doesn't know about him, even though he's a killer. The higher-ups didn't want civilists to panic over him escaping so easily," the blonde teen replied.

"How did he escape anyway, Nii-san?"

"Don't know. No one does." Panting, the Fullmetal Alchemist rounded a corner together with his brother. "The only thing I know is that we need to find and arrest him, before he can kill anyone else."

Edward had been sent on a mission, his brother accompanying him. A prisoner, caught only two days earlier, had escaped from prison and had been ordered to be arrested again. Soon after Edward and Alphonse had found the man called Gary Cartwright, he had escaped, almost cutting off the blonde's arm in the process, after trying to attack them with a knife.

They could hear the man's steps echoing from the walls in the distance.

"Jeez, doesn't that guy ever get tired?" the blonde complained, as the sound of the man's steps only slowly became louder, indicating the distance to him narrowing.

_"Edo-kun."_

A surprised gasp was released by Edward and he made a sharp turn. "What the–"

_"Edo-kun."_

Alphonse stopped dead in his tracks, looking back at his brother, who was standing in the middle of the alley, frantically looking for something.

A reassuring smile appeared on the Fullmetal Alchemist's face, as he turned to the younger male again. "Go on, I think I dropped my pocket watch here."

"I don't think that's–"

"Go! Cartwright will escape when we stay here!"

"O-Okay. Be careful, Nii-san."

"I will. Now go."

After a short nod, Alphonse ran off again. _I hope he won't do anything stupid._ His feeling told him that his brother had lied to him, that he hadn't dropped his watch and that something else had caused him to want the younger Elric away. He knew though that his brother had his reasons for wanting him away, so he had complied.

"I know you're there," Edward muttered. "I know you're following me, Jackson. Come on out, you bastard."

Were those soft laughters he heard? Amused chuckles?

"I'm not crazy, okay!" the teen yelled, not bothering that someone might have heard in the distance.

Wind was howling and crying, pulling at windows, making them clatter, lashing at the teen's face. Coldness engulfed him again, as Edward's voice was carried away by the ruthless breezes.

"Stop messing with my brain, you fucking bastard! I'm sick of these games! I'm sick of you treating me like some damn toy!"

_"That's harsh."_

Suppressing a flinch, amber eyes widened and the teen dropped his head, clenching his fists. "Come out, you bastard," he hissed.

More chuckles were heard.

Suddenly there was something cold, piercing Edward's shoulder from behind, coming out in the front again. The tip of a blood-covered blade stood prone out of the teen's flesh shoulder, glinting in the bright sunlight.

Another fit of amused chuckles sounded and the blade emerged from the teen's shoulder again, pulled out by the smirking Cartwright.

"Talkin' to yourself, huh?" The man's voice was mocking, daring the teen to retort.

Choked gasps were the blonde's only response, as he just stood there for a split second, watching his own blood trailing crimson paths down his shoulder, covering his coat. The next moment, he pushed himself away from the man, creating a distance. With his gloved flesh hand, he grabbed his wound, desperately trying to cease the bleeding. "Damn."

Cartwright's smirk widened, as he watched the red fluid falling from the gash he had inflicted on the young skin. Holding his knife up, he eyed more of the fluid covering his beloved blade, glinting in the sunlight like a liquid jewel. The dark-haired man brought the blade up to his lips and with a satisfied moan, licked the blood off of it. "You're blood tastes sweet, yet tart. I wonder if the taste of your blood changes like the others' did. Some change by the time the body is dead and that's why blood flowing through a living body is more tasty."

"Ugh, you're disgusting me."

The blade was now cleaned of the ruddy blood. Cartwright hummed, as he licked his lips. "Tasty."

A small laugh was heard coming from the teen. "Am I seriously having this kind of conversation?"

"Get down, Nii-san!" a hollow voice suddenly yelled.

Obeying the order, Edward crouched down, his blade still sharp. He watched as a pilar of stone raced past his head towards the fugitive and slammed against the man, sending him flying against a wall.

Despite the pain caused by his wound, Edward jumped up and ran towards Cartwright, who still didn't know what had happened. While running, the teen clapped his hands together and pressed them onto the wall beside the groaning man. Blue lightnings flashed as the stone emerged and wrapped itself around the fugitive, immobilizing him.

The azure light was still fading, as Alphonse ran towards his brother. "Nii-san! Are you all right? You're injured."

"I'm fine, Al," the blonde replied. "I wasn't paying attention and he surprised me."

"Did you find your pocket watch?

Amber eyes widened indiscernibly, then settled on a spot on the ground. "Yeah, I did, though it got a little dirty. I guess I'll have to clean it up when we get back."

"Nii-san…" the younger alchemist trailed off, worry filling his metallic voice.

Slightly confused, Edward averted his gaze towards his younger brother again. "What?"

"What's bothering you?" Alphonse questioned. "Is it because Jackson might be alive? Are you scared?"

"Al, I'm… I'm not–"

"Please tell me, Nii-san. I'm worried about you!"

Ed seemed to mull that over, since his gaze wandered away from the gleaming eyes of his brother's helmet for a moment and then back again. "I need to understand it myself, Al. I need time to sort things out, before I can ask someone for help. Believe me, I don't understand it myself yet."

The younger male made a step towards his brother, the metal plates of his armor clanking. "Then let me help you! Let me help you to understand!"

"I… I just need time, Al. Okay?"

As the younger alchemist stepped back again, Alphonse tilted his head away in thought. The helmet turned back again with a clank and the younger Elric had made a decision. "Okay. I'll wait, Nii-san."

A relieved smile appeared on the blonde's face. "Thanks." Edward averted his gaze towards the bound fugitive, as Cartwright released an annoyed groan. "Guess we should take _him_ away now."

* * *

The mission had been a success. Cartwright was behind bars again and nobody had been killed during his escape. The only one having been injured during the man's run was Edward, who's shoulder was burning and aching by now. The doctors at Headquarters' medical wing had wrapped him up pretty well and also given him pain killers, but those weren't enough to cease the pain of a blade having pierced through the flesh of the teen's shoulder.

Edward was walking towards his superior's office, holding his aching shoulder. To avoid causing more pain, he pulled open the heavy door with his automail arm, pain spreading throughout his body nonetheless.

Inside, Mustang was awaiting him, sitting at his desk with his ever-present calm expression. "Your mission went well, apart from you nearly getting stabbed," the Colonel greeted him. "Why is it you always appear injured whenever I summon you?"

With arms now crossed over his chest, a cold huff left the teen. "Seems people like to hurt me, I guess."

A pained expression crossed Mustang's face. "Fullmetal, this has to stop. I leave you alone and you get injured. Whenever I see you, you're not even looking at me and you act as if you don't care."

"Well, sorry for being a bother."

"Fullmetal!" The raven-haired man's fist collided with the desk, sending some of the documents to the floor. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Che." Undaunted by the man's outburst, Edward still didn't look at the man. "Whenever you summon me and we talk, you get angry and start yelling."

A knock interrupted the exchange and collecting his bearings, Mustang stood up to pick up the scattered documents. "Come in."

The door openend and revealed Hawkeye. "Sir, Colonel Whelan called. He is asking if you decided to still accuse Jackson of violating Edward."

"Tell him I haven't changed my mind, Lieutenant." A grim look shadowed the Colonel's face. "Jackson is alive," he muttered.

The Fullmetal Alchemist just incredulously stared at the man. "What?"

"He has to be." It was obviously unsettling the man. "Otherwise Whelan wouldn't care so much. I know about him, I heard about him. If Jackson was dead, he wouldn't care about this case. It would be withdrawn anyway. No one can be court-martialed if he is dead. Whelan knows that Jackson is alive and now wants him to be declared innocent, so his reputation won't be dirtied. He might be even trying to hide something."

Hawkeye spoke up again and broke the short silence. "What would that be?"

"Whelan was promoted to Colonel just recently, after his superior mysteriously disappeared during a battle," the Flame Alchemist replied. "No one knows what happened. If an enemy might have kidnapped or even killed him. Even though the Colonel had only disappeared for barely two days, one of the higher-ups suddenly promoted Whelan to Colonel for no real reason, saying there was a replacement required and that Whelan was most fitting."

"So, he might be hiding the real reason he has been promoted?" the blond woman questioned.

"That's a possibility."

Edward only half-heartedly listened to the conversation.

_"Jackson is alive."_

After those words, the blonde's mind started to shut down, escaping into the grasps of darkness.

_He's alive? Was he really following_ _me, or was that my imagination?_

Suddenly, the Colonel's face was in front of Edward's, eyeing him and searching his features.

"It's going to be okay, Fullmetal," he uttered in a calm and low voice. "I won't let that criminal touch you ever again." Despite his attempts at comforting his subordinate, Mustang's hands resting on the blonde's shoulders were slapped away.

Arms crossed and lips pulled into a frown, Edward averted his gaze away from his superior. "I'm not some kid that needs babying. I'm fine."

"You're face just now said something else. You were obviously shocked."

"And? Am I not allowed to be shocked about this bastard being alive? Jeez, next time I see him, I'll have to kill that creep myself. Envy is such a damn failure, he can't even kill someone right!"

"Fullmetal, this isn't something to joke about."

Finally, Edward sent his glare straight at the Colonel. "I'm not joking, dammit! I'll fucking _kill_ that pervert next time I see him!"

Realising a continuation of the argument with the younger alchemist was pointless, Mustang held back his retort of reminding the teen of his own words, saying he wouldn't kill anybody to reach his goals. "You're dismissed," was what he replied instead, rising from his crouched down position and walking back to his desk. "Don't leave Headquarters without an escort from now on. Even though your last mission went successful, now that we can assume Jackson being alive, it would be too much of a risk to let you go somewhere alone." He let himself fall into his seat behind the table littered with documents.

The Fullmetal Alchemist as well rose from the couch, his arms lowering to his sides. "Does Al count as an escort?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The first time you were violated, Alphonse-kun was with you, yet you two got separated. You were deceived and attacked. That's why your brother isn't a reliable escort."

"But–"

"You're_ dismissed_, Fullmetal." The Colonel reached for a pen and one of the countless documents, signaling the discussion being over.

Clenching his fists at his side, Edward sharply turned and walked out of the office again. A scowl and a frown plastered on his face, he marched towards the dorms, towards his own one. Besides the teen's heavy steps and the occasional greetings from other soldiers, Headquarters was silent.

Soon the Fullmetal Alchemist reached the small place he called home and flopped himself onto the creaking bed. "Bastard," he muttered into the pillow beneath him. A few minutes passed in which the blonde lay there, listening to the silence of the room, thoughts racing through his mind. The thought of Jackson still being alive plagued him the most.

Would the man try to do something to him again? Was he injured badly? He must have, since Envy had beat him. In case he really was alive, then the Cretan was at least severely injured.

Edward was jerked out of his doze by the sound of something creaking. The window? A jolt upward followed shortly after the teen had heard the noise caused by the window being opened.

A man stood in the middle of the room, the wind blowing in from the outside, ruffling his blond hair shining in a red tone.

Immediately, Edward stood upright, facing the man. "What are you doing here?" His voice wasn't as fierce as he had attempted it to be. Instead, it was shaking with fear. He backed away and tried to gain some distance to the man, after realising how close he was, but soon hit the bed behind him again.

"I-I wanted to apologize to you." Jackson seemed… insecure. His head was dropped and his green eyes were fixed onto the floor. "I feel sorry for hurting you the way I did. Things were never meant to end up like this." The man had his hand clutched to his sides, forming a fist.

For some reason there was only one hand. The other one was not there.

The blonde's eyes widened as he realised the man's left arm missing. Up to the Cretan's elbow the arm had been chopped off. Blood stained the bandage wrapped around the stump.

"You have to understand that, please!" Jackson's remaining hand shot forward and he gripped the red material of Edward's upper sleeves. "You have to understand! I didn't want all this to happen." The Cretan felt Edward shivering under his touch. "You hate me, you fear me. But I never wanted this!"

Momentarily silenced by fear, Edward just stared at the man, panic written all over his face. "G-Get away from me," he whispered. "Let me go… you bastard." He attempted a frown, but it quivered with fear. He felt the man's breath brush over his head, the smell of blood hovering around him.

Jackson let his head drop again, almost touching the top of the blonde's head with his own. "Please understand. You don't even have to forgive me. Just understand that I didn't want all this."

"You fucking _raped_ me! Now you're saying you didn't want to, so what _did _you want?" The room was filled by the blonde's breaking voice and his yells.

"I…" Slowly, Jackson sank to his knees. "I…" The man buried his stubble-covered face into the teen's chest. "I wanted to get to know you. I admired you so much."

Amber eyes widened. "What?" Blonde strands of hair fluttered around, as Edward frantically shook his head in denial. "No. You… Why…"

"Understand." The man's grip on the teen's sleeves tightened. "I never wanted to hurt you. But when I met you, I couldn't control myself, I couldn't contain the desire and lust coiling up. Something awoke in me, something I couldn't control. I didn't recognize myself and my actions. It was as if I was watching someone else controlling my body. Even though it's something I can't ask of you, it would put my mind at ease if you could forgive my sins. My wife is dead now and there's no one that has any use of my existence. If no one needs me, then I'm useless. I'm just a piece of useless trash no one needs."

Incredulously, Edward stared at the top of the man's head, resting against his chest. Just kneeling there, the Cretan caused the Fullmetal Alchemist to tremble inwardly.

He feared this man and the things he had done to him. There had been hate. Somewhere deep down there had been this raging hate about the shame this one man had caused him. Now that hated man knelt in front of him, pleading forgiveness. How was he supposed to hate this man, to keep the hate looming in his heart? Was it wrong to forgive the man that had done these horrible things to him?

"I…" Gloved hands rose and settled themselves on the head, covered by short, reddish-blond hair. "I'll never forgive you! You… You _raped_ me!"

"I'm sorry." The older blonde's voice started to break. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could turn back time and just stop myself. I wish I could take your pain away."

Edward wanted to hate him! He wanted to hate this man! He simply _should_! There was enough reason for him to hate the other alchemist, but he couldn't find it in himself to hate a man that was now sobbing into his chest, deeply regretting his deeds.

"Will you go to jail?" the teen hesitantly asked.

"I will. I will confess and accept my punishment. I know that I will be thrown out of military, but now that I'm alone there's no need to earn money for another person like I always did. When I first met my wife, we were living together in a small house we could barely afford. I joined the military to make a better life possible for my wife." The man silenced for a moment, collecting his bearings again. "Before I can go to jail though, there are things I need to do. I need to find the one that killed Laura."

"He cut off half of your right arm, you idiot! You can't perform alchemy like you did anymore!"

"I can get automail, like you."

"It takes months to get it, stupid!"

"I'll manage."

"Dumbass, you won't be able to beat him!"

"_Him_? You know that guy? That kid with green hair and the creepy eyes?"

"Y-Yeah… Wait, why am I warning you? You are the one that hurt me!" With a fierce scowl Edward shoved the man away from himself, falling back onto the creaking bed beneath him. "I'm supposed to hate you! I can't just forgive you! You're a fucking bastard!"

"E-Edo-ku–"

"Don't call me like that! Why are you following me anyway? Just fuck off and leave me alone, fucking bastard!" The blond teen was fuming, seeming as if he was about to smash _someone's_ face in.

"It's just… I admire you, because you're so sma–"

"Who are you calling so small that he could build a sandcastle with a single grain of sand?"

Jackson went flabbergasted "I-I… I wanted to say that I think you're smart… actually."

"Then why did you rape me?" the teen yelled again.

"When I saw you, there was this… _desire _and I just _had _to touch you. I never intended to go as far as to… to…" He trailed off.

"Oh, and what was all the 'scream for me, moan for me' stuff about?"

"That… I…"

"Just leave me alone!"

"Okay." With a sharp turn, Jackson walked off, leaving the fuming and shaking teen behind. He left through the window he had entered, wind howling around him as if it was angrily insulting him.

Still scowling, minutes after the man had left, the shaking Edward gritted his teeth. "I seriously need to lock my damn windows with alchemy from now on."

That man definitely hadn't been the Jackson he remembered. The Jackson he remembered, the Jackson he _feared_, was sadistic, ruthless, unscrupulous and lewd. But the Jackson that had appeared earlier hadn't been anything like that, being somewhat uncertain, sincere in his regret and remorseful, determined to avenge his murdered wife. What had happened? What had changed the man like that? And if that behaviour hadn't been an act, then who– no, _what_ had been calling out to Edward at those times? Had it been his mind, playing cruel games with him? Had it been someone else following him? No, that wasn't possible. The voice had definitely belonged to the Cretan alchemist. Then what had it been? Was Edward going insane?

Haunted by maddening thoughts, Edward buried his face in his hands, not knowing what to do or what to think anymore.

Suddenly, a thought hit him. A thought, an idea that would have explained everything. Something frightening.

_What if he…_

* * *

Gary Cartwright is actually one of the main antagonists in my German fic, being a rapist. He's just an OOC, so don't worry about me starting to steal characters from other series without disclaiming XD. I wrote this in three separate parts, in a way I usually don't write my stories, putting them together in the end. I just did this time, I guess.

I decided to upload the Thank-You One Shots (TYOS) as single stories, so not in a story as chapters like I actually planned. That's because the requests I've gotten so far are for different categories.

**At just anie6142**: Dear Anie-chan, you ARE being rewarded! I already decided to reward you, so there's no need for you to become the 100th reviewer anymore XD. Just tell me what your idea by e-mail and I'll write it for you ;D (my e-mail address is on my profile). You can also e-mail me because of the signing-in problem. Please sign up, cause I wanna spam your Inbox with my randomness XD. Y podría ser que usted sea de un país español en América del Norte? Sorry if my Spanish sucks XP.

**At** **brz**: I still need a request from you, so I can write the TYOS for you. I'll write anything you want, just give me a category, characters and a plot ;D

Also, I decided on some rules:

**1.** In case the 100th reviewer is someone who already is being rewarded, then the following one not yet being rewarded will count as 100th reviewer.

**2.** Should there be several persons that reviewed the most (so having written the exact same amount of reviews) then all of them will be rewarded. I will do the rewarding for those after this story ends.

**3.** _9shadowcat9_, _Renkin-chan_, _brz_ and _just anie6142_ don't count, because they're already being rewarded.

**4.** I won't count for example ten reviews, saying something like "I like this story", as ten reviews, but as one. That way I avoid that people just skip through the chapters and write one sentence as review and then expect me to write them a TYOS.

**5. **I choose the ones being rewarded after certain conditions I decide myself, by which I determine if they actually read the story, or are just interested in a TYOS.

**6.** If I don't get a request there will be no reward.

**7.** The rewarding will go on until the story ends.

This wasn't supposed to become so long! DDD= Jeez, this was supposed to be all nice and easy, but I want to avoid misunderstandings.

Next chapter on the Friday of next week ;D! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ!

Benze ;P


	13. Test of Theories

Yeah… We went to Bodrum in Turkey and I got myself a henna tattoo _(A/N: Now I'm back in Berlin again XD)_. There were some I liked and in the end I had the choice between the Kanji for 'sea' (海) and another with 'Eat shit and die' in Japanese. Since my mom didn't like the later, I chose 'sea'. I like it… The guy just fucking put it on the wrong way around D: It's staying on for 2-3 weeks! Ah well, I accepted it and won't bother myself about it (don't see a use in it), but it's still damn stupid.

Warning: This chapter contains adult themes.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XIII  
– Test of Theories –

_Who are you?_

_"You should know that by now."_

_Why are you here? Where did you come from?_

_"Ask that yourself."_

_Why are you doing all this? Your actions are ruining everything!_

_"You got something against a little fun?"_

_Well, you call it fun, but I call it inappropriate._

_"Don't act so prudish. You're anything but well-behaved and you know that."_

_I'm nothing like you!_

_"If not, then my existence wouldn't make any sense, don't you think?"_

_I can't believe I'm actually talking to you._

_"Finally admitting that you're as mad as a peach orchard boar?"_

_No! I'm not crazy!_

_"If you say so. We'll see if you change your mind."_

* * *

"This will be your next mission, Fullmetal." The Colonel calmly handed Edward the file containing the most important facts and informations. "_After_ you read the file, I'll introduce you to your escorts for this week."

The teen lazily looked through the pages, a frown soon forming on his face. "What the hell? You want me to investigate a case of tax evasion? This is my mission?"

"You are a servant of the military and this is part of your duties. For now, I can't give you anything requiring you to be able to fight, since you're stil injured."

"Come on! At least let me investigate something interesting."

"I won't. Harold Mallow is being suspected of intentionally concealing the true state of his affairs to our tax authorities to reduce his tax liability. Someone has to investigate this accusation and that's you."

An annoyed whine escaped the blonde's mouth and he slumped back into the couch, letting his head fall back against the top of the couch's rest. "I don't want to. It's boring."

"You can't take missions, depending if you like them or not." Uttering no further words, Mustang grabbed the receiver of his desk's phone and swiftly dialed a number. "Hawkeye, send them in." A thud sounded as he placed the receiver back.

Only seconds later, the wooden door of the office opened and revealed two persons. One was a female with short dark-brown hair and a mole under her left eye. The other was a blond male, his long hair reaching his chin and his face still showing slightly boyish traits.

The Colonel rose from his seat to stand in front of his desk. "Second Lieutenant Maria Ross and Sergeant Denny Brosh will be escorting you on your mission, Fullmetal."

With his arms crossed over his chest, Edward as well stood up from his seat and walked over to where the two young soldiers were standing.

As soon as the Major came into view, Ross and Brosh saluted and gazed straight at the teen. They watched as Edward's look of utter annoyance turned into a small smile.

"I told you two that you don't have to salute to me," the teen greeted them.

Slightly sheepish, Brosh let his gaze wander to the Colonel, catching a glimpse of the man's grim expression. The man winced inwardly, as he averted his gaze to the younger alchemist again. "We will do our best to protect you and help you with your mission, Sir."

An exasperated sigh was heard as Edward started to give up his hopes on the two to ever stopping to be so formal around him. "Let's just get this over with." With that said, he walked past them, the two soldiers finally letting their arms drop and following after him. They left behind Mustang, smiling to himself about their antics, but at the same time frowning inwardly, aware of the danger that was looming about his subordinate.

* * *

"So, this is where the guy lives?" the blond teen asked.

Ross cast a last glance at the small map and the document in her hands. "It is, Sir."

In an annoyed fashion, Edward rolled his eyes. "Will you ever stop? I told you not to be so formal around me."

"My apologies. I forgot, Sir."

"You're doing this on purpose to annoy me, right?" the teen questioned. "Denny?"

A small wince escaped the man. "N-No, of course not."

"Eeeeh, I don't think so," Edward replied in a low and threatening voice. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Ross shooting her partner a warning glare. "In case you should be lying to me, Sergeant, I want to remind you that I'm your superior officer. I could always have you be court-martialed for disobeying my orders."

Fear was written all over Brosh's face, as he tried not to break down. It was futile though. "Please forgive me!" He fell onto his knees in front of Edward and was almost breaking out into tears. "I didn't want all this! The second Lieutenant forced me to!"

As the terrified Brosh was crying out in fear at his feet, Edward couldn't hold back any longer and broke out into a fit of amused laughter.

At first, Ross and Brosh eyed him with confusion, but soon smiles sprawled onto their faces.

When they had been given the task of escorting the Fullmetal Alchemist, Armstrong had told them about the teen having acted weird the past weeks. Everyone knew that something had happened to the blonde. After all, they all had been told that Edward had been involved in a huge fight and afterwards had been in hospital for a while. But to them, it had seemed as if there was more to it. Their superior though had told them not to question Edward about it and maybe lighten up his mood a little. And they had succeeded, seeing that the teen couldn't get a hold of himself anymore, too caught up in his laughing fit.

After all of them had regained their composure, Edward stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door. They heard calm steps from behind the door and seconds later, it swung open, a middle-aged man standing in front of them.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the man asked slightly sheepish at seeing the two persons in military uniforms. His attention was on the adults and not the teen scowling up at him.

"I'm investigating your involvement in a case of tax evasion," Edward greeted the man. "Step aside so I can examine your house."

Blinking in a confused fashion, Mallow eyed the teen in front of him, seeming as if not quite believing what the blonde had said. "I don't mean to be rude, but aren't you a little too small to be in the military?"

"Who are you calling so small he could sleep in a nutcase?"

Mallow's eyes widened in surprise over the boy's temper. "I didn't say anything like that… at all."

"Just step aside so we can start examining." After pulling out his pocket watch, showing the man prove of him being a state alchemist, and ignoring the still confusedly blinking man, Edward shoved himself past Mallow, striding in while muttering curses under his breath. "Where's the damn study?" he asked to himself. Rounding a corner, he found a room with its door slightly ajar. He stepped in and spotted the many documents lying around. The floor and the few pieces of furniture were covered in paper and books. Edward loudly sighed, stepping over the piles of files and opened books.

That was the moment when Ross and Brosh arrived and entered as well, after properly explaining the situation to the occupant of the house Edward had boldly entered. They both shot the superior officer a questioning look.

"Help me search this room for documents containing information about his income. We'll find out how much money he really earns." Edward knelt down to examine a bag full of small envelopes. He opened some of them, finding the same content in all of them. "Mail. Denny, look through these," he ordered. Then he moved on to a stack of paper and eyed it, picking up some sheets. Lazily he flipped through them, releasing a sigh. "Bills." He kept flipping through the sheets until he had over-looked them all.

The examination continued this way, Edward sighing all the while and the two adults escorting him carefully doing their work. That was until the alchemist found the thing he had been looking for.

"Hand me the documents," the teen ordered Ross, who immediately complied and handed him the file.

With observant eyes, Edward compared the information on the documents with what he had found in the study. A bored look plastered itself onto his face as he looked up again. "Arrest him. He's guilty of tax evasion."

Mallow had been fidgeting the whole time, now his left eye-brow was twitching, making him look slightly out of it. "I wo-won't be arrested by some kid. I won't!" Anger crossed the man's features, as he lept forward and attempted to cut Edward with a knife he had suddenly pulled out of his pocket.

Unfazed, the blonde met the man's angry glare with a calm one. He easily dodged the man's knife, grabbed the wrist holding the weapon with his flesh hand and landed a punch with his metal arm into Mallow's guts, knocking him unconscious with the force. The man slumped to the ground in a heap, groaning.

Only a split second later, Ross and Brosh towered over the man, guns poised to shoot him should he try to attack, even though he was obviously out like a light.

Brosh's features gained a whiny expression. "Did you really have to completely knock him out? Wouldn't it have been enough to disarm him?"

A huff left the teen as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't like it when people underestimate me."

* * *

Pained groans and muttered curses were heard as Mallow was being lead into Headquarters, handcuffed and with a black eye. After he had regained consciousness again, he had tried to attack the Fullmetal Alchemist again, earning a punch to his face. The two escorting soldiers were holding his hands secured to his back, watching his every movement, while Edward strode in front of them.

They had almost reached the corridor leading to the Colonel's office, when someone rounded a corner and bumped right into the teen, sending him to the floor. Still dumb-founded by surprise, Ross and Brosh stood still as the man rushed past them, while Edward got up again.

"Jackson!" Ross shouted. "We need to catch him! Brosh, stay here and watch Edward!" In a fast pace she ran off, following after the Cretan.

Left behind were Edward and Brosh, the blond teen not quite knowing what to think. Trying to calm himself, he shoved his hands into his pockets. Amber eyes widened as his fingers brushed against something and he gripped the thing in his pocket, not remembering to have put anything there, and pulled it out. In his hand now lay a piece of slightly crumbled paper and in a neat handwriting, something was written there.

_Come to the office in the third floor.  
It's the second one right next to  
the staircase. We need to talk.  
D. Jackson_

"Is everything all right?" Brosh suddenly asked, cutting through the blonde's daze.

Edward's gaze snapped to the older blonde and a sheepish smile curled his lips. "It's just a note I forgot. It's not that important though. I'm more worried about the Second Lieutenant, to be honest." The smile faltered and was replaced with a frown.

"W-Why's that?" Brosh replied. "She's fine on her own."

Sighing, the Fullmetal Alchemist crossed his arms over his chest, while shaking his head. "I don't think so. Ross might be all right dealing with normal criminals, but this is a state alchemist we're talking here about. He's higher ranked than her and can use alchemy, while she only has her gun. He over-powered me more than once and that's why I don't think she'll make it." The teen watched as the man's eyes showed the fear and worry growing. "You should go after her," he continued with a small smile. "Don't let that bastard kill her."

Only slightly did Brosh straighten up before he nodded and ran off to where Ross had been heading.

Edward did feel bad, scaring the shit out of the man and manipulating him like this, but who knew when he would get a chance like this again. He waited until the sound of Brosh's steps ceased to reach his ears, then he ran off into a different direction, heading towards the staircase.

Was this really the right thing to do? Running right into the arms of the one that had caused him so much pain? Was it a trap, or did Jackson mean it?

Soon, Edward reached the door described on the note and, after looking to his left and right, entered. Inside it was empty, so Jackson wasn't there yet. Cautiously, the teen stepped further in, quietly closing the door behind him.

It was a vacant office and no one owned it. Not much furniture had been left behind by the former owner and only some empty shelfs and a desk occupied the room.

With a burst, the door swung open again, right behind Edward.

Jackson walked in and quietly shut the door, his frantic gaze fixing on the alchemist. A sigh of relief left him and he walked towards the window, sunlight falling through the glass and illuminating the room. Panting, he reached out to the window and rested one hand atop the glass, leaning against it and letting his head drop.

Arms wrapped around himself, Edward cautiously stepped towards the man, stopping a few metres away from him. "What do you want?" His was voice small, blatantly showing his fear and uncertainty.

"There are things you need to know," the man spoke up. "Things that might seem unbelievable, especially said from my mouth. I just want you to know the truth about what's going on in our government."

The blonde's brows furrowed in unbelief. "What does you raping me have to do with the government?"

"Everything." The Cretan turned around again, a blank look plastered on his face. "Have you heard about the assassination of the former Lieutenant General?"

A sharp nod was the response. "Two men from Creta succeeded in assassinating Lieutenant General Gardner and afterwards it was found out that citizens of a Cretan village assisted in the murder. Those men were arrested."

"That's nothing like the truth!" Jackson snapped in a low voice. "It's _far_ from the truth! The Amestrian government is covering up what really happened! How much pain they have caused our land!"

"What does this all have to do with me and you?"

"It's all connected. Colonel Whelan is part of it all. He was one of those that–"

Suddenly steps echoed outside and neared the office.

_"He must be inside one of these offices!" _someone called outside._ "Look for him!"_

"Damn," Edward hissed and ran over to one of the walls. "I hope this works here too." After a clap of his hands, he pressed his palms to the wall, blue lightnings flashing. He hastily openend the door he had transmuted and walked into the small gap. He turned around to see Jackson staring at the still closed door of the office in a dumbfounded fashion. "Get in, you idiot!"

Turning his head to the teen, Jackson finally moved and slipped into the gap together with the teen.

More blue light filled the room, as Edward transmuted the door back to normal and closed it off. He tensed, feeling the other man being so close to him, shivers shaking his body. They were only two arms-lenghts apart from each other.

Only seconds later they could hear the sound of the office's door being slammed open and several people stepping in.

_"Sir, I don't think my subordinate would take this kind of risk and simply walk into Headquarters." _That seemed to be Whelan's voice.

Edward could see Jackson suddenly shaking and tensing up, even through the darkness.

Then another familiar voice replied. _"Two soldiers have seen him running around here, Sir." _That was definitely Mustang._ "Both of them followed him, but lost track of him. He couldn't have left the building yet. There wasn't enough time, which means that he must be hiding here somewhere."_

_"I would like to remind you that the order to arrest my subordinate has been withdrawn."_

_"If we catch him doing __anything__,_ _we'll arrest him right away, wether the arrest has been withdrawn or not." _Mustang's tone was final, not allowing any further complains.

Edward had strained his hearing a little to listen to the conversation, but his attention was being dragged to Jackson, as violent shivers now ran through the man's body. "J-Jack–"

"Edo-kun…" Jackson's voice was low and sombre, as the shivers abruptly ceased. "You should know better than locking yourself here with me."

"What are you–" The teen was being silenced by hot lips pressing against his mouth and a tongue slipping past his own lips. He felt hands roam over his body, fingers brushing over his sides, his chest and stomach. Still in a shock-induced daze, he stepped back, Jackson never breaking contact and following after him. Edward had only managed to make two steps, when his back hit a wall. He wasn't able to scream, wasn't able to struggle. His body didn't obey his brain's orders, his desperate mind's complaints. He was paralyzed.

Edward felt the Cretan sliding down on his knees, lifting up his t-shirt to reveal a stomach defined by lean muscles. The teen shivered as the hot tongue dipped into his navel, tracing over his stomach. The quiet, yet deep moan that was released by the man made his hands shake, as he lifted them and settled them onto Jackson's head. In an attempt to push the man away, he dug his fingers into the reddish-blond strands of hair, but wasn't able to push him away, not able to put enough strength into it. A small gasp left him, as Jackson reached the waistband of his pants, biting down onto the black material and savouring the sweet smell of the teen's smooth skin.

The crash of the wall breaking interrupted the Cretan's actions and moments later he was being roughly pulled away from his victim.

Apparently, Hawkeye had heard sounds behind the wall and had quietly informed Mustang about it, who in response had ordered Armstrong to break open the wall, accepting the risk of hurting the criminal.

Mustang watched as Hawkeye, Ross and two other soldiers held down the snarling and thrashing Jackson. He glanced to his side, seeing Brosh standing there with a relieved smile on his face. "Where's Fullmetal?" he asked the blond man with a hint of anger. "Weren't you supposed to escort him?"

The smile immediately disappeared from Brosh's face, replaced by a sheepish look. "I-I got worried about the Second Lieutenant, so I… left him."

"You left him? Alone?" the Colonel almost yelled.

Brosh flinched back, intimidated by the raven-haired man's glare on him. "H-He told me to go! I-I didn't do it on my own! Jackson was running away, s-so I didn't think he would get t-to–" His hopeless attempt at talking his way out of it, was interrupted by Mustang cutting in.

"Where is he now?"

The blonde dared to cast a glance at his partner, Ross shooting him a questioning glare. "I don't know!" he wailed.

"Then find him!" Rage coiled in Mustang as he realised that his subordinate might have been violated once again. The next moment Hawkeye called him from where she stood by the hole in the wall.

"Sir, I think he's in here."

Immediately Mustang's face lightened up again, the shadows of rage and anger dissipating. "He's been in there with Jackson?" he asked incredulously, while quickly walking over to the wall. He reached his subordinate, hastily looking into the darkness of the gap, illuminated only by the light falling in from outside. Against one wall, somewhere in the most deepest darkness, a figure sat. Not hesitating a moment, Mustang stepped over the debris to push himself into the gap between the offices. This one was larger than the one Edward had once hid in to listen in on the interrogations, so the Colonel easily fit in. He only had to make a few steps until he reached the blonde. "Fullmetal?" he tried, but knew he wouldn't receive a response while the teen was in this state.

Behind them, the still thrashing Jackson was being hand-cuffed.

Carefully, Mustang reached out one hand to rest it on his subordinate's shoulder, but was surprised by what happened next.

Edward's head, having rested on his knees pulled to his chest, snapped up and with a jolt the blonde stood upright. He shoved past his superior and stepped out of the hole, facing the soldiers holding down Jackson. "Tell me your name!" His amber glare was fixed on the Cretan soldier.

Even the soldiers suddenly stopped dead in their tracks, eyeing the teen, searching for signs of the teen having gone insane, while Jackson's frantic expression went mad, a smile splitting his features.

"You want to know my name… Edo-kun?" Amused, deep chuckles sounded from his mouth. "Balor, that's my name!"

Maniacal laughter sounded, as Jackson was being pulled up-right and lead out of the room.

Left behind were Mustang, Hawkeye and Armstrong, not understanding what had just happened. Edward though was blankly glaring at the spot where the Cretan had just been, comprehending the words spoken. His suspicions and theories had turned out right.

_I knew it._

* * *

Hah, such a great feeling. Cliffhangers are just awesome… as long as I make them that is.

We almost reached 100 reviews, my little lemons! Only 11 to go! Come on and write! Maybe _you_ will be the 100th reviewer! XD

**At Anie**: So far I haven't received an e-mail :(. I guess you'll have to give me your request in a review. About the signing-in: Have you tried a support e-mail yet? I did that when there were problems with opening Ch. 12 and it helped. Did you google it? Looked at FAQs and Help pages? Please sign up, I wanna spam your Inbox (as I said ;D).

**At brz**: Can I use _Bring Me To Life_ by _Thousand Foot Krutch _to write your TYOS? I already started it and managed the beginning so far.

I once said that I actually had been planning to end this story with Jackson being caught by Mustang, but instead I let him kidnap Ed. Why? Cause I got so many positive responses, saying stuff like _'I'm excited about seeing where this is going'_. I felt kinda bad about wanting to end it so soon, that's why I continued. Be happy! Without you guys this would have ended at chapter six or seven!

Bad thing: I have no idea myself where this is going. For example: Right now I barely know what should happen in the next chapter. I do have a plot around which everything's happening, but what exactly should happen is something that I plan shortly before starting to write the chapters. It could be that I'll write two or three more chapters for this, or even ten or fifteen, I really don't know.

Chapter 14 on next Friday ;D.

Benze ;P


	14. Burning Death

Omfg! I finally surpassed 100 reviews! Thank you so much to all my loyal lemons reviewing so much! I love you guys! :DDD Now that I've reached my goal I can die in peace…

Nooo! Of course not! There are still so many ideas in my head needed to be written down! Just enjoy the chapter and leave some more reviews… Next goal 200 reviews? Naaaah, let's not become unrealistic. *hopeful expression*

Warning: This chapter contains slight gore.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XIV  
– Burning Death –

"Fullmetal, are you sure that you really want to do this?" Mustang eyed his subordinate, doubting the teen's sanity.

"Stop asking," Edward replied. "I already told you that I'm going to do this no matter what you say."

The raven-haired man still wasn't content with what the blonde was planning to do. "But why? He _raped_ you!"

The scowl already plastered on Edward's face deepened. "Stop asking and leave me alone."

A sigh left the man as he averted his onyx gaze away to his other subordinate, Hawkeye. Her look seemed unreadable and stern as always, but knowing her, Mustang saw the hint of worry in her hazel eyes. "You have half an hour until Whelan will come," he informed the teen, now calmer again. "He'll definitely manage to somehow get Jackson out of prison. Do what you have to do and get out as soon as possible."

The only response heard was Edward muttering curses under his breath.

Soon, the three soldiers reached the door they had searched for. A guard first eyed them and then Mustang's uniform, nodded and then openend the door. When Edward attempted to just walk in, he was stopped by Mustang.

"Be careful, Fullmetal," the man warned him. "Don't let yourself be fazed by what Jackson says." He hesitated before he uttered his next words. "I'll wait here."

"Yeah, yeah." Lazily waving his hand at his superior, the blonde finally walked in. The heavy metal door **(1) **slammed shut with loud creaking and a bang, leaving the Fullmetal Alchemist alone in semi-darkness, the only thing illuminating the barren room being stray rays of light falling through a small window in the stone wall.

Bars parted the room into two separate places, Jackson sitting behind them and Edward standing in front of them.

The blonde wrapped his arms around himself as he felt the cold hit him. Slowly, he approached the bars, until he was standing in front of them. There weren't any chairs, so Edward settled with sitting on the dust-covered and dirty floor.

When Jackson lifted his head to look at the visitor and he spotted the blonde teen, his features gained a calculating look. Then he averted his gaze away to stare at a spot on the wall above the teen's head. "You're probably wondering what happened… back then."

"I'm not," the younger alchemist replied. "I know what's wrong with you. Now I understand most of what happened. Though I still don't know the reason behind all of it yet."

The man's eyes widened a little. "You know about me?" All he received as a response was a sharp nod.

For a while, silence was the only thing heard in the gloomy room. Both occupants were following their own thoughts, their own musings.

The first voice to break the silence belonged to Edward. "How does it feel?"

A short, cold laugh left Jackson before he answered. "It's disgusting. I have to share my body with this… lewd bastard."

"Balor?"

"Exactly. Balor suddenly appeared one day when I felt like… shit. Even though I am thankful to him taking away some of my pain and bearing it himself, I can't forgive him for what he did to you."

"Why do you tell me this?"

"So you'll understand," Jackson replied calmly. "And because there are things that I have been carrying around for quite a while now. I need someone to talk to." He paused for short moment to take in Edward's slightly confused expression, a small smile crawling onto his face. "You know… I went through the same things you're going through now. The fear of closeness to other people, the paranoia, this feeling of not being able to protect myself, the shame. Knowing that something has been taken from me that can never be returned, making me feel filthy."

Edward's features from an observant expression to one of utter incredulity. "You… You've been raped?"

In a sad fashion the man nodded. "I told you that's it all connected, Edward."

"Tell me everything. From the start."

"Okay." Jackson went silent for a moment, seeming to think through how he was starting to explain. "I once lived in a village in Creta. It was peaceful, everyone knew each other and we had only one school with ninety-eight children. I had my parents, my sister Kiara and a dog. We peacefully lived in our village, Kerry… It was so beautiful. I was only fifteen when I woke up one night to the noise of people screaming outside. When I looked outside I saw people in uniforms dragging people out of their homes and into trucks. They took babies away from their mothers, took the children away from their parents. I was trying to go outside when my mother came running into my room. She was crying, while telling me to hide in a secret place behind the wall and then led me to a door. When I asked her to hide with me, she said that there wasn't enough room and that she wanted me to be safe. Apparently my sister had been taken away already. She closed the door, ignoring my protests and I heard voices and steps outside. They took my mother away too."

"Was that why you were shaking when we hid behind the wall in the office?" _Could've triggered… Balor into coming out._

His head bowed towards the ground, the Cretan nodded. "I hid in that gap for what felt like hours. Mom told me to wait until it was quiet again, so I went out when it was morning. After seeing none of the people in uniforms, I ran outside to look what had happened. All I found was abandoned houses. I was relieved when I found two other people: my cousin Brian and a woman that lived three houses next to ours. We wanted to run away and find our families, so we decided to pack some things, but we never got the chance to. Suddenly, there was fire everywhere around us, explosions ripped everything apart. We ran for our lives and we all received burns. Líle received burn marks on her face and Brian and me some on our shoulders and chests. I still have scars. When we made it out of the village alive, we stood on a hill and watched our home fall to ashes, devoured by flames."

Edward watched as the man had to collect himself again. "And then?"

Jackson took another shuddering breathe before he continued. "We traveled around and asked around a little. We found out that the blue uniforms belonged to the Amestrian army, so that's where we were headed to. Our determination to find our families kept us walking forward and we soon reached the borders of Amestris. When Amestrian soldiers spotted us… they grabbed hold of each of us. I haven't heard of Líle since that day, but I heard of a man named Brian fighting for the Cretan army. I hope it's my cousin." The man paused for a moment, seeming lost in thought. "The Amestrians took me to a prison where they forced me to work and that's when I first met Whelan. He came when I was peeling potatoes and asked me if I wanted to get out of that place. Of course I said _'Yes'_ and he then took me with him. He brought me to what must have been his house and… and…"

A knowing look crossed the teen's face. "Oh…" _That's when he got raped… He was the same age as I am now. _Jackson ran his one hand over his face and just now did Edward notice the dark rings under the man's jade-green eyes.

"Whelan cared for me, but at the same time he took advantage of me and used me for his own desires. I once tried to run away from his…" He trailed off, his eyes slightly glazed over from the memory, "and I learned not to the hard way. He threatened me to tell someone where I was from. If anyone would have known, then I would have been killed. They can't risk letting someone like me live, someone that witnessed what they did."

"What happened to all those people in the village?" Edward demanded to know. "Why would you be killed?"

"That's what I wanted to know too. I endured being with Whelan and became his subordinate when I was seventeen. I started to do research and found out what had happened. You remember how we talked about citizens of a village in Creta being involved in the assassination of Gardner?"

A sharp nod was the teen's response. "Yeah."

"Kerry was that village. This is what I found out: When the Führer found out about what had happened to Gardner, he ordered the village Kerry to be destroyed. All the 172 males older than fifteen were stood up against a wall of a barn in the village and shot the following day. The soldiers also put up some mattresses against the wall to avoid ricochets in order to protect _themselves_. The 195 woman were taken, fifty-two of them were murdered and the most of them died after escaping, weakened by their injuries. The ninety-eight children were taken away as well, twelve of them were chosen to serve the Amestrian military and the others were all killed. The village was burned down, bombed and razed. The soldiers even dug up the corpses of our graveyard and built barracks out of the tombstones."

"Amestrian soldiers? They… dug up… and built…" Aghast, Edward trailed off, eyes wide in terror.

"The children that were able to return to their mothers years later weren't able to talk to them, since the Amestrian language had been beaten into them… literally. They had forgotten their own mother-tongue. Since the day that the soldiers came… I haven't seen my family. I found a letter in an archive, a letter by my sister. We had relatives outside of Kerry and when Kiara was locked away somewhere, she wrote a letter to our grandmother. She was asking for socks, toys… food. When I found the letter… she was long dead. My father had been shot like the other men and my mother murdered alongside the other women of Kerry. I once went back to our village, but all that's left of my home… the place where I grew up, is an empty field." Jackson paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "The ninth of June was the day that changed my whole life."

Silence befell the two occupants of the room, Jackson struggling to regain his composure and Edward's mind reeling with what had been revealed to him.

The first able to speak again was Jackson, his smaragd eyes still glazed over in the darkness of the memories of his past. "Thank you for listening."

Still a little dazed, the teen's head shot up to meat the others gaze. "Y-Yeah," he muttered.

"I never actually told all this to someone. Whelan of course knew and I was planning to tell my wife too. Someday… Now it's too late though."

"Jackson, I-I…"

A seemingly knowing smile curled Jackson's lips. "You can go, if you want. Whelan will be here soon and… take me with him."

"O-Okay. Bye." Out of habit, Edward wrapped his arms around himself, hastily walking out of the room.

Outside, Mustang and Hawkeye were waiting, taking in the teen's shaken up appearance as he stepped out. The Colonel was about to say something, but Edward just walked past him, not sparing him a single glance.

The blonde clamped his gloved hands over his ears and tried to block out the sounds reaching him, but they only grew in volume.

Gunshots.

Edward released his ears again to eye his hands. He crooked his fingers several times.

_Still real. Everything's there. Everything's… real._

Screams mingled into the gunshots.

_It's coming from outside! Someone's shooting people outside!_

Amber eyes were wide in dread, as Edward ripped open a door to an office, not caring if it was vacant or not. Fortunately, no one was there, so he stormed towards one of the large windows, glancing outside.

Everything was burning and houses were being ripped apart by explosions. A large group of men was assimilated on a yard, soldiers shooting each off them into the reigns of death. Havoc and Breda were one of those to be shooting.

_This is not happening. I'm dreaming. This is not real!_ Edward covered his eyes with his hands, wishing for the sight to disappear. Hesitantly, he removed his hands again, immediately spotting another person among the shooting soldiers. Hawkeye was ruthlessly placing bullets into the men's heads, her cold gaze unchanging.

_"Don't take my baby from me! Please!"_

_"Mommy!_

The blonde alchemist averted his gaze to where he suspected the screams coming from. There were Falman and Fuery ripping babies and children away from their mother's hold, most of their fathers and brothers already dead. With cold scowls, the two men Edward had known for years were shoving people into trucks that drove off as soon as nobody fit in anymore.

_"Stop it! My dog is in there! Stop, please!"_

Moving his hand again to cover his mouth, trying to prevent his sobs from escaping, Edward spotted Mustang snapping and burning down houses, ignoring the desperate shouts and pleas of those that were to die.

_Why is this happening? It's not real, right? But… it's right in front of me!_

Suddenly there were shouts right behind him and he sharply turned around.

"Don't take him from me!" A woman stood in the middle of the room, holding onto a lump in her arms, her skin covered by burn mark. Bone was already showing through her scorched flesh and her clothes were stained dark-crimson with drying blood. "You took my husband from me! I won't let you take my baby from me too!"

Hughes ignored her attempt at resistance to protect her child and simply grabbed it out of her hold.

Not wanting to see, not wanting to hear, Edward stumbled back, hitting a wall with his back and sliding down until he was sitting. He pulled his knees to his chest, tightly hugged his legs and buried his head in his knees. His nails dug into the fabric of his leather pants as sobs shook his body. The screams from outside became more desperate, the smell of smoke from burning houses and the stench of burned flesh reaching his nose. It settled itself in his nostrils, unwilling to disappear. Gunshots ripped through the air, the sound of bullets hitting bone and flesh chiming over and over again.

_Please, make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop!_

* * *

"Why do I feel like having done this before?" Once again, Mustang was searching for his subordinate, frantically looking around. Accompanying him were Hawkeye and Hughes, silenced by worry for a moment.

"Roy," Hughes replied, "why did he run off like that?" The man had caught a glimpse of his friend searching for his subordinate, accompanying him immediately after.

Mustang's already narrowed gaze hardened. "For some reason, he wanted to talk to Jackson. I don't know what they talked about, only that it must have unsettled Fullmetal. I'm sure Jackson said something weird to him, that damn pervert. If there weren't a law against it, I would have already burned that guy to ashes and ri–"

"Colonel, Sir!" Hawkeye cut in. "Someone's behind that door."

A confused expression settled itself on Mustang's face. "Isn't that your office, Hughes?"

"No one's supposed to be there," the green-eyed man replied. After he had nodded to his companions, Hughes opened the door to his own office, immediately spotting the shaking form sitting in a corner. "Ed!" Him and Mustang were by the teen's side after only a few long strides and together, they knelt down next to Edward, not yet knowing what to do.

"I knew it," Mustang muttered. He reached out one hand to let it settle on the blonde's head. "Fullmetal, Jackson can't do anything to you here."

But Edward was lost in his world of desperate screams, gunshots ringing and the smell of burning death. When warmth touched the top of his head, he barely recognized it. But when it started to ruffle his hair, he weakly lifted his head, only to see blurs through the curtain of his tears. They were still falling from his eyes and his sight cleared only slowly. When he was able to see properly again, he froze.

Mustang tilted his head in confusion, as his subordinate just blankly stared at him, almost as if he was looking straight through him. His hand was still resting on the teen's head and he kept petting the blonde. His still confused expression hardened when a look of utter panic settled itself on Edward's face. The blonde's eyes grew wide, violent shivers still rocking his body and the tears still flowing. Slowly and completely tensed up, the teen averted his gaze to the other persons occupying the room, his head unmoving. Hawkeye was standing and Hughes was crouching, both where they had been watching the whole time. Havoc and the others also had arrived, standing in the door watching. Suddenly, the blonde's wide amber gaze snapped back to Mustang, who had already withdrawn his hand.

"Get away from me, you bastard!" Edward suddenly yelled, flailing around to gain a distance to the man. _They're all here! Those are the ones that killed them all!_

The Colonel stumbled back a little, shocked about the outburst.

"You sick bastards!" the blonde continued. "You killed them all! They're all dead because of you! You fucking bastards!" The look in Edward's eyes was one of pure insanity. "How can you blindly follow the sick orders of one fucking bastard?" he yelled, jolting up. "Tell me!" He suddenly flinched and sunk back down, panting heavily.

Everyone in the room just stared at the teen. What was he talking about? The Ishval war?

The blonde teen had problems keeping his eyes open. His head kept lolling to the side, as if he was about to fall asleep.

Hughes was immediately by the boy's side again, examining him thoroughly. He reached out to Edward's neck to feel the teen's racing pulse. "His heart rate is rapid and his temperature is low, at least two degrees lower than usual. He's shaking from the cold." Light-green eyes traveled to the alchemist's face. "His pupils are constricted."

A cogitating look appeared on the Colonel's face. "Tachycardia, hypothermia and miosis. Those are all side effects of…" He trailed off, eyeing his panting subordinate with growing worry.

"Painkillers," Hughes continued. "He must have taken painkillers over a long period of time to have all these side effects. We need to get him to a hospital, Roy!"

The raven-haired man just nodded.

"Get…" Edward suddenly panted out quietly, "away… from me." His words were slurred and shaky.

"Ed?" Hughes concerned voice rang out. "How do you feel?"

"Get away… from me." The teen's voice rose in volume. "Get… away from me. Leave me alone… you bastards!" He leaped forward, an angry snarl sounding from his mouth. He didn't hit Hughes sitting next to him, but instead Mustang who was standing right in front of him. With the power of his jolt, he sent the man onto his back, straddling Mustang's hips. His fist connected with the shocked Colonel's jaw only a split second later. "You're killing them," he choked out, voice tear-stricken. "I still hear their screams. They're in so much pain." Edward covered his ears with his hands again, trying to prevent the screams from reaching him, but they rang out in his mind nonetheless. "It's disgusting. The smell of scorched flesh, of burning bones. It's such a vile and nasty scent." Tears were flowing from amber eyes once more. "They're screaming. They're burning. They're _dying_." The teen's shivers were becoming worse, making him waver. "Make it stop. Make it stop. I don't want to hear it anymore. I don't want so see their faces anymore. Their flesh is being eaten away by flames, melting away from their bones. Make it stop."

"Fullmetal!" A feeling of promnesia overcame the man as he sat up, grabbed his subordinate's slim shoulders and shook the teen. "Get a hold of yourself!" His worried onyx eyes were met with dull amber ones looking straight at him, but at the same time being far away.

"Colonel…" he suddenly muttered, lowering his head again. "Do you want to know where hell is?"

"What?" Mustang replied. "Fullmetal, what are you talking about?"

Edward's eyes were being shadowed by his bangs, not even a frown breaking his emotionless mask. "It's in my head." The teen collapsed forward into the man's chest, drifting into unconsciousness.

Everyone's eyes mirrored the incredulity they all were feeling. Havoc, Breda, Fuery and Falman had been watching everything from outside the hallway, while Hughes and Hawkeye had been nearby the whole time. They all knew that Edward did have problems, but for him to go lunatic like that, saying the things he had said…

It was frightening. Frightening enough to make their all skin crawl and their blood freeze in their veins.

* * *

And who became the 100th reviewer? *drum roll* **Azkateelia**! You won a One Shot of your choice. Give me a category, a plot, characters and maybe a pairing and rating ;D.

Look what I've got!: (Benze-chan. deviantart. com /art/The-Art-of-Breaking-173460825). It's a picture of Ed I made for this story! Use the link by removing the spaces and the brackets :D.

So far I received some requests and also finished TYOS #1. Anyone interested in Edvy lemons? Yeah? Well then, read Predisposed to Pain And Bliss which I wrote for **Shadow**. Next up will be** Renkin-tan** with a story for Pandora Hearts, then **brz** with a story for FMA and then **Anie-chan** with her story… as soon as she knows what she wants that is XD.

**At Percy**: The TYOS you reviewed was a reward for someone that reviewed this story a lot. If I would write you a One Shot just like that, it would be unfair towards others, but if you review _this_ story enough and I decide to reward you for it, then of course I'm going to write out your request :D.

What I wrote about Jackson's past is based on true events. The tragedy of Kerry is based on the massacre of Lidice on the evening of the 9th June, 1924. I only made slight changes so it would fit. The one assassinated was Reinhard Heyderich, chief of the police and SS-Obergruppenführer. After the attack by two Czech assassins on him, he went to hospital in a coma and later died. When Hitler heard about it, he first ordered to kill thousands of Czechs randomly out of sheer rage, but, with some persuading by his subordinates, he then decided to massacre Lidice instead to simply scare the Czech people shitless. With the excuse of acquaintances of the assassins living in the village, Lidice was massacred, just so Hitler could intimidate the Czech people. The women from Lidice were brought to concentration camps and then murdered. Most of them later died of their injuries, whereas the children were brought to youth concentration camps and then gassed. The children had been alive for barely a day before they were killed, in which they wrote letters. Relatives received those letters after the children were already dead. Those children that had survived, after having been declared worthy to be germanised, and later met their mothers, couldn't talk to them, since the German language had been beaten into them and they had forgotten their mother-tongue, Czech. Lidice was bombed, burned down and razed, leaving only a field behind. Even the sentence about soldiers digging out the corpses from the graveyard and building barracks out of the tombstones is true. This is what I've learned while visiting Prague. I guess this is my way of dealing with it, instead of crying my eyeballs out like others would.

Ed's little rant about Mustang and the others following the orders of one man… that was me kinda expressing my hate against Hitler and his followers :P.

I noticed that I kinda forgot about Hughes the past chapters… He died so soon that it became natural not writing about him, okay! D:

**(1) **I lol'd really hard at the heavy metal door XD.

Benze ;P


	15. Bloody Sky

Ah, chapter fifteen. What a pretty number… Gah! But I don't like it how the titles of the last chapter and this one both start with a 'B'. Hints of OCD much?

The reason why I uploaded the last chapter on a Saturday instead of a Friday (like I promised) was because I thought that it really was Friday. When my mom told me that it was Sunday the following day, I first thought that she was joking, but she didn't. I lost a whole day! D:

:DDD One of my pictures got featured on deviantART! :D It's the one I put a link to in the last chapter, the one I made for this story. So far it's my most successful drawing! Success! *performs dance of joy*

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XV  
– Bloody Sky –

Bright, white light illuminated the barren hospital. White light, women in white nurse uniforms, doctors in white coats. For Mustang the color white was becoming associated with dread and the paining feeling of having to wait, not knowing if it was for bad news or good news.

The Colonel was sitting outside Headquarters' emergency ward, where he and his subordinates had brought Edward to. When they had found the teen, their shifts had been already over and even Mustang had finished most of his paperwork. While being in the hospital for around and hour, they had witnessed several doctors entering the room in which the teen was being treated and also had heard terrified screams coming from inside it. Apparently, the blonde had regained consciousness for a minute and then passed out again. No one told them anything about what was going on and the doctors and nurses going by shot them sympathetic glances every now and then.

Hughes had come back from his phone call to inform Alphonse. The man's worry and dread was edged deeply into his features, presenting the face of a concerned father. He let himself fall into the chair next to Mustang, burying his face in his hands. Next to him, his friend was blankly staring at the door behind which his subordinate was being treated, not quite seeing the white door itself, but the lifeless eyes of Edward staring into nothingness.

_"Colonel… Do you want to know where hell is?"_

_"What? Fullmetal, what are you talking about?"_

_"It's in my head."_

Those haunting words rang out in the Flame Alchemist's mind. He did have a hunch about what was wrong with his subordinate, but seeing those dull amber eyes caused his suspicions to waver. Maybe Edward… was really loosing his mind.

A familiar sound soon reached the ears of the blue-cladded soldiers. Seven heads shot up as Alphonse approached them, his red gleaming eyes filled with unseen worry.

"What happened?" he demanded to know. "Why is Nii-san here again?"

The one to face the younger Elric was Hughes, who rose from his seat to stand before the teen. Even though he tried to hide his obvious worry, he wasn't able to ban the desperation from his voice. "We don't know what happened either. We found Ed in my office and he was acting like… like… as if he's gone mad."

A hollow gasp escaped from the armor and the helmet lowered its gaze to the ground. Alphonse narrowed his red eyes, comprehending the man's words. "Nii-san… You mean that he is loosing his mind because of… what happened?"

"Al…" Just for a small uncertain moment did Hughes trail off, realising that he had to be strong. He was the one who had to reassure the worried brother and later care about himself. Then he remembered the symptoms he had witnessed during Edward's 'phase'. "Alphonse, did Ed take any painkillers?"

"He did," the boy trapped in an armor replied with a nod. "Ever since the day he was attacked by Jackson."

Light green eyes narrowed. "Al, you need to tell me more," Hughes implied.

Again, the helmet tilted towards the floor. "He didn't always take them, only when he couldn't handle the pain. For a while, he wanted to bare with the pain, but recently, he started to take painkillers regularly. I often told him that he was over-doing it, but he said that he needed it for the pain to ease. I think he might have taken some when I wasn't there."

"Did he sometimes act weirdly?"

The younger Elric had to think back a little. "He… Sometimes he forgot certain things. At first I thought that he was a little confused by what had happened, but then he started to walk around at night. He always blamed it on nightmares and that he was just getting something to drink afterwards, but I could see that he wasn't getting enough sleep. And lately he's been nauseous and dizzy a lot"

"I never realized _anything_ of that!" Hughes exclaimed incredulously. "How could he have hid it so well?"

Alphonse's head shot up for a brief moment, but lowered after only a few seconds again. "It didn't happen that often, so I didn't think it was anything serious. He still behaved like he always does and was completely normal. But sometimes…" _Sometimes he hasn't been my brother. Has been like a different person. Living in a world different to ours._

Hughes too let his head drop, devastation now clearly readable in his face. It had occured to him that Edward was acting strange at times, seemingly disoriented and often walking into the wrong offices. How hadn't he noticed?

No one had. Everyone had just dismissed it as the Fullmetal Alchemist having a hard time because of the rape incident. They hadn't seen the true causes behind Edward doing strange things and acting weirdly at times. He hadn't shown this strange behaviour often, so they hadn't paid much attention to it, but had worried nonetheless. If only they had doubted their own theories more.

The sound of a door opening sounded foreign to all their ears. After hearing what Alphonse had said, the soldiers' minds were reeling with thoughts. Thoughts of 'What ifs?'. A door was creaking open and Hughes only noticed someone exiting until the doctor was standing right in front of him.

"Hughes-san?" the doctor asked the spaced out man cautiously. He looked around and found Mustang sitting on a chair and other soldiers lurking around with devastated and tired faces. "I have examined Edward."

"Dr. Walker?" Mustang questioned incredulously. "Why are you at Headquarters? Aren't you supposed to be at the borders?" He stood up from his seat to face the man.

Grief shadowed the doctor's features. "Our hospital has been attacked by Cretan soldiers. It has been burned down and only few people of the staff and some patients survived."

"But…" The raven-haired man trailed off, thoughts in a mad frenzy. "Weren't Amestrian soldiers there to protect you?"

The balding man shook his head in denial. "Those were killed. The Cretans shot them and then assaulted the hospital. They shot everything that came in their way and afterwards detonated a bomb. The Amestrian military had mercy and took me and the other survivors in. I'm working here now."

Mustang hesitated a little before he asked further. "How many survivors are there?" the Colonel wanted to know.

The elderly man's fingers, covered in wrinkled skin, clenched around the clipboard. "Eight of the twenty-three staff members, including me, and eleven of our forty-eight patients."

The Flame Alchemist clenched his fists at his side, lowering his head. "I'm sorry. I wish I could have helped."

A small smile appeared on the man's face. "Your support helped us until the end. It couldn't be avoided after all. It was only a matter of time until the hospital would be assaulted. I'm just glad that at least some people survived."

The corner of Mustang's lips quirked up a little, but didn't form a real smile. "How is my subordinate?"

This time the doctor's features were then shadowed with honest worry. "It doesn't look too good," he muttered. He watched the faces of the soldiers shadow with anxiety. "Luckily, it's nothing life-threatening, but we had to perform a gastric levage to clean out the contents of his stomach. The symptoms he showed and that you described indicated that he's suffering from side effects of painkillers."

"We thought so too," Hughes admitted. "Alphonse just told me that Edward has been taking painkillers ever since the Jackson incident, though not regularly from the beginning. Recently, he seems to have taken them more often."

Dr. Walker's eyes narrowed indiscernibly. "Who prescribed those to him?"

Hughes was becoming unsettled by where the conversation was headed and how frightening the doctor's expression was becoming. Like a lion protecting her young. "It must have been the doctor that cared for him here. His name was Dr. Dardo, if I remember right."

"Dardo? Lino Dardo? That idiot! Hasn't he been sued for prescribing diacetylmorphine to a woman that had given birth? Why is that imbecile still running loose?"

A little taken aback by the man's outburst, Hughes lifted his hands in a defensive manner. "Apparently, the trial revealed that he was inno-"

"Bullshit!" the elderly man cut in. "That man belongs behind bars and nowhere else! He caused that woman to become drug-addicted and to neglect her duties as a mother! She had to sell her body!" Coughs interrupted the man's rant. "Sorry, I received a little smoke poisoning while escaping from the hospital," he panted out. He took a deep breath, before he continued. "Let's discuss that manner later on. Our first priority is Edward. As I said, we were able to clean his stomach from its contents and now he needs time to get those drugs out of his system. It might take a while, but I think he'll be fine, if he stays until tomorrow."

"Can we see him?" Hughes asked.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." It was obvious that the spectacled doctor was wary about that particular subject. "From what you told me and from what I've witnessed myself, Edward seems to have hallucinations about something similar to a war. Right now he isn't in his right mind and will connect people he knows as soldiers with his hallucinations. The problem is that we can't tell yet if the hallucinations are caused solely by the pills or if it has something to do with his mind. We will only be able to find that out after the effects of the pills have worn off."

"Then…" Hughes hesitated for a second, "can at least Alphonse see him?"

A long huff left Dr. Walker as he thought about the matter. "It should be all right. But Alphonse, be careful not to disturb him in any way, since he still is pretty out of it." He shot a meaningful look towards the teen, who nodded in response.

"I will." After receiving reassuring glances from the others, Alphonse walked to where his brother's room was. Several nurses were rushing out of it, giving him and his brother much needed privacy. The younger Elric was greeted by a sight which would have been completely normal, if the conditions would have been different.

The room itself wasn't anything special. A turbid yellow covered the walls and the only things in the room were the bed, a table next to it and a few chairs scattered around. Edward was sitting on said bed, still wearing his usual clothes, while his infamous red coat was resting on the rest of a chair next to the bed and with his black boots beside it. The blonde's lower half was covered by a thin blanket and even though Alphonse's body, a suit of armor, was clanking loudly, he didn't even avert his gaze away from the window. Lethargically, the blonde was staring at the sun disappearing behind the horizon, his automail arm glinting in its light.

"Nii-san?" the younger teen tried to gain his brother's attention.

"It's red," Edward suddenly muttered. His voice was hoarse and rough, probably from a tube having been shoved down his throat and into his stomach. "It looks like someone slashed another one apart and splattered blood all over the sky."

"N-Nii-san?" The metallic voice was shaky and filled with rising dread.

Edward kept unmoving, dull amber eyes fixed onto the crimson sky. "I can hear it dripping. The blood. Must be a lot of blood, cause it doesn't just sound like it's dripping from a tap, but it sounds like someone's emptying a bucket. No… it sounds like thousands of people are emptying thousands of buckets. Buckets of blood."

Alphonse was staring at his brother, at a loss of words. Was this really caused by an overdose of pills? Pills that were supposed to help his brother? Now supposedly ravishing his brother's mind?

"Ah…" A somewhat delighted sigh and a short, rough laugh were heard. "They're still screaming. I see… So that's why there's so much blood. It's so red… so wet… Didn't think there was so much blood in one person. I did know that blood accounts for eight percent of the human body weight and that an average adult has a blood volume of approximately five liters, but seeing it… I mean really seeing that much blood flowing from one person…"

Shakily lowering his head, Alphonse pulled back the chair next to the bed and let himself slide onto it. He was a little startled as Edward's head suddenly snapped towards him and he was met by his brother's amber gaze.

"Al…"

The younger teen shot the blonde something that must have been an expecting look. "W-What?"

Edward first blinked, somewhat puzzled, and then turned his gaze away to stare at his fumbling hands resting in his lap. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

From the armor a breathy laugh was released. "Why should I be afraid of you? You're my brother!"

"But… I'm saying all these weird things." Edward lifted his hands up to eye his palms. "I'm acting so weird sometimes." His upper body sunk forward a little and he buried his face in his palms. "I'm crazy, Al! But you still… you…" The sound of metal plates clinking reached his ears and he felt a cool gauntlet settling on his head. He looked up from his hands to see his brother's gleaming eyes intently glaring at him.

"I would never be afraid of you, Nii-san." If Alphonse would have had a real body, then a bright smile would have graced his features in that moment. He enveloped his brother into a hug, hearing soft choked noises and seeing Edward shaking a little. The younger teen smiled inwardly, knowing that his brother was desperately trying to hide his tears. But he didn't tell him to let loose, or leave his pride out for once. He didn't, because he knew that Edward's pride was one of the only things he had left, after having his innocence taken from him.

* * *

Thick tension filled the room like an invisible fog, dulling the senses of those present. One man was sitting behind his desk, his secretary to his right and two soldiers to his left. In front of the man, on the other side of the desk, a teen was sitting, nervously fidgeting around. Behind the teen, to his left, his superior officer was standing together with his subordinate. Edward, Mustang and Hawkeye were facing the head member of the court-martial, his secretary, that was writing everything down, and two warrant officers. They had assembled in the large office to confirm the victim's, Edward's, testimony.

Simon Fitzroy eyed the teen before him with caution. Edward's face was pale and tired, shadows hung beneath his eyes that were dully staring at the desktop. "Major Edward Elric," the white-haired man uttered, watching the blonde raising his head to face him, "also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, state alchemist of the Amestrian army, fifteen years old, date of birth February 3rd, 1899. Are these information accurate?"

"Yes, Sir," Edward answered monotonously.

"Are you related by blood or marriage with the accused?"

"No, Sir."

Nodding, Fitzroy discarded the sheet of paper containing those information to the side, taking a copy of Mustang's report. "Now that that is cleared, we will proceed to confirm the sequence of events." The man put on his glasses and read over the first sentences of the report. "Is it true that you have been on a mission to Pendleton on the supposed day of the crime?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Is it true that you met Lieutenant Colonel Jackson on your way to your target while being assaulted by Cretan soldiers?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Is it true that you have been separated from your brother Alphonse Elric during the fight and went along with the Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good." Fitzroy let the file fall from his fingers and lifted this hands to fold them under his chin. "Now to the most important question: Is it true that you were violated by the Lieutenant Colonel?" The man immediately noticed the teen tensing up and probably clenching his fists under the desk, lowering his head.

Edward hesitated, not uttering a single word, making the tension in the room rise and thicken even more.

Even Mustang was picking up his subordinate's tension, wanting to finally hear those important words uttered. The words that would bring Draigen Jackson behind bars.

Then the Fullmetal Alchemist lifted his head again, determination set on his face. "No, Sir."

* * *

"Fullmetal…" The Colonel's voice was a mere low hiss. "What was that supposed to be?" He didn't receive a response and instead narrowed his eyes as Edward simply kept walking down the corridor, head bowed towards the ground. "Why did you lie? Tell me!" His patience having passed its boundaries, Mustang stepped in front of the walking teen, blocking off his way. An exasperated sigh left him as Edward simply tried to walk past him and he grabbed the teen's shoulders, lightly shaking him. "Tell me what has gotten into you! You lied to the court-martial! We won't be able to get Jackson behind bars now! Your testimony just now was final and even if you told the truth later, your credibility would be doubted!" Suddenly, the man flinched back, releasing his subordinate. Surprise plastered itself in his onyx eyes, the man realising that Edward had been shivering under his touch.

"Don't touch me," the blonde muttered. "You reek after burned flesh." He rushed past the man, hugging himself tightly.

Even the usually collected Hawkeye could only stand there, incredulously glancing between the man staring and the teen walking away. She was about to say something, when the man suddenly stormed after the younger alchemist.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang yelled, catching up with Edward. "I order you to tell me what you were thinking!" He grabbed the teen's wrist, keeping it in a firm grip.

"Let me go." Edward didn't turn around to face his superior and kept staring at the wall ahead.

Instead of complying, the Colonel just tightened his grip. "No. I won't let you go until you tell me what led you into lying to your superior officers, to the court-martial!"

"You're hurting me."

"Tell me! I'm sick of you always avoiding me and acting as if I am the one that hurt you!" Regret started to nag at the edge of his mind as Edward started to struggle, turning around and using his free hand to try loosening the man's grip.

_"Let me go! Don't do this to me! I have a child!"_

_A gunshot._

_Blood slowly oozing out of the lethal whole placed in the woman's forehead._

"No. No. No." Edward frantically shook his head, tears threatening to escape from his quivering gaze. "Let me go!" he shrieked as if death itself was clawing at him, threatening to drag him into the chasms of burning hell. "I d-didn't lie!" the blonde choked out with a tear-stricken voice. "What I said was true! J-Jackson didn't rape me!" Fierce shivers shook his body and his breathe was coming in paining pants.

Mustang grabbed the teen's other arm, pulling Edward closer to himself. "That's what you're saying, but it can't be the truth! Did Jackson extort you again? Did he threaten to do something, if you didn't lie?"

"He didn't!" For the Fullmetal Alchemist, managing his breathe was becoming an insurmountable task. "I-I did it out of my own free will!"

"I don't believe that! Jackson belongs behind bars! You yourself said that he was the one to violate you, yet you lie now of all times when we are about to apprehend him!"

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! You're hurting me!" In vain, Edward attempted to stifle his sobs and held his breathe. He knew that if he would release that breathe, he would break down into a miserable heap of tears.

Startled, Mustang recognized the fear written all over the teen's face. Slowly he released his tense grip on Edward's arms and felt remorse coiling inside of him, as the teen leapt off as soon as he was able to move again.

The younger alchemist's rushed steps and hissed pants echoed throughout the corridor, the sounds burning itself into the Colonel's mind like an atrocious earwig.

* * *

I have no idea how this whole court-martial thing works, so I made up pretty much everything. I hope it's at least a little authentic :P.

Hear! Hear! I have decided how to end this story! Doesn't sound positive at all, huh? But don't worry, my lemons. This wasn't the last chapter. I now know how this should go on and how this should end. I did have a final scene in mind for a longer time, but now I have planned out something that perfectly leads to that scene! So now that I have a firm story-line, it's only a matter of time until this story ends. What I've planned so far could easily fit into two or three chapters, but since I really want to include other stuff (I haven't thought up yet), I hope I can write some more chapters.

Look forward to the key events leading towards the final of this story! As always, I'm thankful to all of you for reading and especially to those that leave reviews :D. Don't forget to leave some reviews, because I might decide to reward you with a One Shot too!

The second TYOS for **Renkin-chan** is finished! If you like Pandora Hearts, then I would be glad if you read Argent Night ;D.

Benze ;P


	16. Profound Voices

o_O Remember the pic I put a link to last chapter? Well… it's pretty successful, but this week I also submitted a coloration of Allen Walker from DGM as the fourteenth on deviantART and that one… It's being featured in 13 groups, was favourited 71 times and got over 300 hits after only a few days… *faints from happiness* (A/N: Update from some time later later = The pic now has around 1,7000 views and something like 150 favourites or so :P)

Mr. Benz: Jeez, she's been fainting from happiness so much the past days. *drags off Benze* Come on, Benze-chama! Don't pass out onto Mac-tan!

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

_The younger alchemist's rushed steps and hissed pants echoed throughout the corridor, the sounds burning itself into the Colonel's mind like an atrocious earwig._

* * *

Chapter XVI  
– Profound Voices –

Mustang and Hawkeye simply stared after the teen until he had rounded a corner and the sound of his steps and hitched breathing subsided. It was completely silent as Hawkeye spoke up for the first time.

"Sir," she tried to gain the man's attention. "Colonel, what should we do about this?"

But Mustang kept silent, trying to find answers to his questions. Why was Edward avoiding him whenever he tried to talk to him? Why was Edward acting the way he was? Why was he edging away from him so much, not allowing Mustang to get close to him? Why?

Worry slowly started to well up in the Lieutenant. "Colonel?"

"Why is he so afraid of me?" the man suddenly asked. "Whenever I talk to him, we end up yelling at each other. No… Actually I'm the one yelling at him and he runs off in the end." _I'm trying to help him, but he just won't let me._

"You should talk to him," the blond woman suggested.

Head bowed to the ground, Mustang shook his head. "I tried, but he won't let me help him."

"Try to be gentle."

Finally, the Colonel looked up again to see the small smile that had appeared on the woman's face. "I'll try." His gaze wandered towards the direction Edward had run off to. "Now I just need to find him. Wish me luck, Lieutenant."

The woman's smile widened and she straightened her back, saluting to her superior. "Yes, Sir." She let her hand fall as soon as Mustang had turned around and walked off.

* * *

"Stupid Colonel bastard, never leaving me alone and always poking his damn nose into stuff that isn't anything of his fucking business," Edward mumbled heatedly under his breathe, while rushing down the corridor. He tried to calm himself by rambling and not thinking about the things he had seen, _again_. Who knew randomly ranting about his superior officer could help driving away the memories of a gruesome hallucination?

Only a few hours had passed since the teen had left the hospital. As soon as he had been able to form coherent thoughts again, he had demanded to leave and was immediately after dragged off to that interrogation with the court-martial. But certain things were still plaguing his thoughts, not leaving his mind at ease for once. Even though it was highly unpleasant to Edward, he knew that only one person was able to answer all his questions. He had to meet up with Jackson again. That was the reason for him to go the front desk to ask the secretary there about the Cretan's whereabouts, in case he had been moved.

He tried to look as calm and collected as possible, as he stood in front of the secretary.

"How can I help you, Major Elric?" she asked, her azure eyes glinting with kindness.

"I'd like to know where Lieutenant Colonel Jackson is right now. There are some important things I have to discuss with him."

"All right. I'll look that up." Calmly the woman in her mid-thirties flipped through records, some strands of her light brown hair loose from its ponytail and falling into her face. "Ah! Here it is." A small frown curled her eyebrows and she warily eyed the teen. "He's under custody."

"That should be changed soon," Edward replied. "I just came from an interrogation regarding his case and he should be released from custody soon and instead be put under surveillance."

"I see. If you just came from that interrogation, it could take a while until he'll be actually released. When you want to see him go to the cells. The Lieutenant Colonel should be in cell number B12."

"Okay, thanks." The blonde shot the woman a smile, hoping it was convincing. He then walked off towards where he knew the cells were. It didn't take long until he caught sight of the guard, who was talking to someone over the phone. Edward had to wait for a few moments, until the man finally hung up.

"Wanna see the maggot again?" the guard asked grumpily.

The blonde simply nodded, knowing pretty well who the man meant with 'maggot'. Silently he passed the guard, walking past cells occupied by other criminals he didn't even want to know of. When he finally reached the door with a sign saying 'B12', he released a small sigh of relief, then took a slightly shuddered breathe in order to calm himself down.

_As long as Balor doesn't appear I'll be fine. _

He couldn't prevent his hands from shaking slightly as he reached out to grasp the door handle and turned it to gain access to the cell. What he saw wasn't what he had expected.

Jackson was sitting on a chair, his one arm bound to the rest of the chair he was sitting on. Two men were standing in front of him, grim looks plastered on their faces.

Edward closely eyed the insignias on both men's shoulders. The left one was in his forties, white strands lining his ebony hair. _Three stripes, two stars… A Lieutenant. And the other one… _His gaze snapped to the other, younger man with reddish-brown hair. _One stripe, two stars… Guess he's just a Sergeant._ "Lieutenant," Edward spoke up in a firm voice, "I need to discuss urgent matters with the Lieutenant Colonel."

Frowning, the unknown Lieutenant shot a scowl at Jackson then turned to the teen. "This is urgent too, Major Elric! His victim has just been interrogated and apparently, he black-mailed that person into lying to the court-martial! I need to know–"

"That can wait until later," the blonde cut in. _I'm lucky they don't know who exactly that victim was. _"Now leave."

The older soldier released a snort and he had to bite his tongue for a heated insult would have left his lips otherwise. "Che." He walked over to Jackson and released the man from his bounds, then stormed past Edward, leaving his own puzzled subordinate behind. "Get out there, Tulpan," he snarled from outside.

The young man called Tulpan immediately straightened up, though the puzzled expression only slowly faltered. "Y-Yes, Sir!" After saluting to Edward, he ran off after his superior.

The door closed with a long creak, the steps of the two men slowly fading into silence.

"You lied?"

Jackson's voice cut through the silence and right into Edward's mind. Hearing the man's voice was still painful to him, making him cringe. "I didn't."

"Then what was this all about?"

"I was just saying the truth," Edward replied seemingly calm. "They asked me if it was true that you… violated me and I said that it wasn't. Cause it isn't."

The surprise was obvious, showing itself freely on Jackson's face. "That's… I–"

"It wasn't because I like you, or anything," the teen interrupted him. "It was because I know that it wasn't your fault and I couldn't live with someone innocent going to jail because of me."

"I'm not innocent. It _was _my fault for not having myself under control. For not having Balor under control."

A frown appeared on the blonde's face. "I don't care what you think about it. I came here to ask you a few things and it'd be better for you if you answered quickly, cause I'm sure _someone_ will show up here soon."

"O-Okay. I'll try."

Edward paused, collecting his own thoughts, before continuing. "What are you planning to do now?"

The man only hesitated for a second. "I want to find that kid that killed my wife _and _chopped off half of my left arm."

"How are you planning to do that with just one arm?"

"I told you! I'm going to get myself automail."

The teen's frown only deepened. "And I told you that it takes months or even years to get automail _and_ that it's impossible for someone like you to beat Envy."

"I don't care how long it takes as long as I can avenge Laura! And why shouldn't I be able to beat him?"

"Don't you get it?" Edward almost yelled. "He easily chopped off your arm! He could chop off your other arm too without even blinking next time you see him! You fought him, lost and almost got killed! Shouldn't you know that it's useless?"

"Then what am I supposed to do, huh? Should I just sit around, doing nothing, while some lunatic has my wife's death on his conscience?"

"I'm not! Just forget your stupid revenge! It won't get you anywhere! Accept it: You can't defeat Envy and there's no use in wanting revenge!"

A scowl plastered itself onto the man's usually calm face. "I won't let some kid like you tell me what to do!"

"Oh, then I'm sorry for wanting to help you! Maybe I should just go and tell everyone about your little freeloader that raped me, don't you think?"

Jackson ran one hand over his face, a sigh sounding from his mouth. "Sorry… It's just… It's making me so angry. I don't know what to do anymore. Even if I could, I don't want to return to the military… to Whelan."

"What about Whelan? Something's off about him, right?"

"That's–"

"Tell me!" Edward insisted.

The older alchemist wasn't comfortable with where the conversation was going. "I can't! He'll kill me!"

"No one is here beside you and me. You have a secret and I have a secret. I saved your ass, so you should repay me by revealing some of those secrets."

"Are you serious?" Jackson simply received a glare from the teen. "O-Okay. But make sure _nothing_ of what I'm going to tell you leaves this room."

"Understood."

"All right. So, you know that Whelan was suddenly promoted to Colonel just a while ago, right?" He waited until after blonde's nod before he continued. "His own superior, the former Colonel, disappeared days before and even now hasn't been found yet. Can you think up a reason for that?"

"Did Whelan make the Colonel disappear and then somehow got the higher-ups to promote him?"

"Exactly. The Colonel was betrayed by him. I didn't witness it myself, but Whelan's other subordinates told me about it. Apparently, Whelan ordered assassins to kill his superior and to dispose of the corpse. Doesn't sound exciting at all, huh? Now comes the most important thing though. How did he get promoted so easily?"

"The only way I could think of why the higher-ups should go around their own rules to promote someone is… personal connections or blackmail."

"Whelan threatened an influential officer to leak informations about the massacre of Kerry," Jackson continued. "The only persons that know what really happened are the survivors, including me, the officers that ordered and executed the massacre and you. Everyone else is told the same things that you were once told. That two people from Kerry were simply imprisoned for the assassination of Lieutenant General Gardner and nothing else. In case people search through documents, they'll only find reports that say that the whole village was accidently destroyed during the border wars."

"That's… Now that's one hell of a scandal!"

"And that's why Whelan got promoted."

"I see…" The Fullmetal Alchemist went silent for a moment, comprehending the things said with concentration.

"Anything else?"

Edward tensed up a little, for his next question was the one most agonizing to him. "When was the first time I talked to you in person?"

The man's head bowed towards the ground, a frown curling his lips. "When I came to you to apologize."

"Th-Then… For how long did Balor have that kind of control over your body?"

"Ever since I met you. It started shortly after we met in Pendleton. When I helped you and your brother out, I was still myself, but on our way through the town… Balor suddenly pushed my conscience away and gained control over my body. That never happened before! Balor always appeared when I was in pain and protected me, but that day… that day he forcefully gained control in order to…" He trailed off, careful not to say the wrong thing, "to get close to you. The next time I was myself again, there was that Envy-brat walking away from me and my wife lying in a pool of her own blood in the next room. Since then, it sometimes happened that I found myself in places I didn't know how I got there."

"Do you remember Balor following me or something?"

The man shook his head. "I don't. When Balor takes control and I later am myself again, I don't remember anything of what Balor did."

Edward couldn't help himself and he tensed up before asking his next question. "W-Why is Balor so… so… obsessed with me?"

"I don't know."

"Can't you ask him?"

"It's not that easy," the man mumbled. "He talks to me when he wants to. He never clearly answers any of my questions and only gives way for new questions. I don't know what's going on in his mind."

"Then…" Edward trailed, still not wanting to do what he knew he had to. "Then let me talk to him."

"Y-You can't… I don't–"

"I want to talk to him," the blonde insisted, his voice rising in volume.

"I can't control him once he comes out."

His patience was nearing its end and Edward knew it wasn't long until he would break out into rage. "Let me talk to him!"

"No."

"I want to ask that bastard straight in the face why he's so fucking obsessed with me! Let me talk to him, damn it!"

"I really don't want to. I really don't. But if you insist like this…" Jackson shut his eyes, releasing a long breathe and calming himself down. Only moments later, his head shot up again, a sly smirk plastered on his face. "Hello, my lovely Edo-kun."

"Why are you so obsessed with me?"

"Eh? No 'Hello' for your old friend? Aren't I _inside_ your heart?"

A faint blush tinted Edward's face. "Shut up! Just answer the damn question!"

"Well, why do I care so much for you?" Balor was definitely having fun teasing the blonde. "Hmm… because you're lovely."

"That can't be it! There has to be another reason for someone like you to just… just…"

"Force my way past your _barriers_?"

Edward's blush only deepened at the man's words. "S-Stop saying so damn suggestive things!"

"Do you really want to know? You really do?"

"Just say it!"

A malicious smirk appeared on the man's face. "You look like the person Draigen fell in love with." He didn't bother to pause for long to let the words sink in. "The person that was killed during the massacre of Kerry. The person that Draigen knew since his childhood."

Edward had problems actually believing that. He was being compared to a girl? "W-What–"

"She was a pretty girl. Long golden hair, light-brown almost golden eyes, nice curves. Stubborn and impulsive, but with a strong sense of justice. You are a lot like her and that's why I want you. I am the personification of Draigen's love still lingering in his heart, desperate to hear her heart beating again."

"Di-Didn't you appear to protect him?" _Is it normal for a split personality to know so well about himself?_

"I did protect him from Whelan, but the reason I exist is that Draigen never compensated what happened to her. The physical pain caused by Whelan only made it all topple over, until I came into the picture." Balor smiled at seeing the teen's shock and surprise. "Of course, there's no way of replacing Fennore and Draigen knows that. He disposed of his grief and now I am bearing it for him."

"Adoption of grief by a distinct personality? Something like that is possible?"

"You're an alchemist. Shouldn't you know that yourself by just witnessing it? With those eyes of yours." The man slowly rose from his seat, sly smirk plastered firmly on his face. The teen jumping up from his seat and snarling at him only let his excitement grow in intensity. It didn't take much for him to stop the blonde from reaching the door, even with only one arm. Feeling the warm skin of Edward's wrist beneath his fingers made him want more, see more, feel more. He wanted it all.

"Let me go, you pervert!"

"Seems you've lost some weight and strength. Have you been longing for me that bad, Edo-kun?"

"Get off of me, you sick bastard!" Edward had thought that it would be easier to defend himself since the man only had one arm, so why wasn't he able to escape? _Damn those stupid painkillers! They still haven't worn off!_

"You really don't know what you're doing to me, do you?"

"I-I don't know what–"

"Panting like that, flushing like that, making me–"

"Stop it!"

"You don't want to me to stop, Edo-kun, and you know that."

The teen found himself backed against a wall, trapped by the man's body alone. _Jackson… do something, you idiot! It's your body! _He suddenly gasped, feeling the man's hands slide under his black shirt, caressing his flushed skin. Balor's pleased moans and groans of excitement caused bile to crawl up his throat, but he wouldn't will it to escape. His yelp of surprise was muffled by Balor's lips against his own, the man's slick tongue finding its way past his own lips and into his hot mouth. It mapped his mouth's inside, running over every speck of flesh it could reach. Edward wanted to bite down on the other's tongue, but then he would have to explain the blood later. He knew that, in his state, struggling wouldn't get him anywhere. Was he really doomed to having to endure this torture? Accepting the man's hand casting downwards towards his pants' waistband? Having to bear foreign fingers opening those pants and slipping inside? He didn't. He really didn't want to.

_"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."_

The tips of Balor's fingers were already tingling from touching the smooth and warm skin. He felt a bead of sweat trickling down his face, as he had almost reached his goal. A mix out of a sigh and a moan left his mouth when he finally wrapped his hand around the teen's length.

_"Why are you doing this to me?"_

"S-Stop," Edward panted against the man's lips.

_The men's laughters echoing from the concrete walls._

"I wont." Balor once again attacked the blonde's lips, excitedly letting his hand caress the younger alchemist. "You like this, don't you? Admit it."

_Clothes being ripped away and screams of shame and agony filling the air._

"I-I don–" His own gasp interrupted Edward, pants ripping through his words, the man's hand stroking him. "That's not true." He completely tensed up, knowing that moving would only make it worse for him and more pleasurable for Balor. Heat spread over his cheeks, making his face feel as if it was on fire, unwanted pangs of bliss clouding his mind. The pleasure coiling up him and his own moans threatening to escape. It just felt too good. Moments passed that seemed never ending, a sweaty hand still caressing him, disgusting him and sending agony straight into his most inner core. He had to prevent himself from screaming out loud as his release shot out of him and into the man's hand. Relief was denied to him though, since Balor was still clinging to him, panting just as heavy and a flush tinting his face as well. Had he really climaxed just from touching Edward?

_"Recompense injury with justice and recompense kindness with kindness."_

Finally, the man pulled his hand away, only to eye the sticky seed covering his fingers. "So you did like it," he mumbled a little breathlessly.

Shame was the only thing running through Edward's mind, as the man let his tongue lap up the white substance with a smirk. Then surprise slowly mingled into the shame at seeing the man suddenly standing there motionlessly. "Ja– Balor?"

The man's head shot up, confusion lingering in those green eyes. "W-What?" He eyed the teen's flushed appearance and his gaze unconsciously flicked towards Edward's _open_ pants. He immediately flinched away, almost tripping. "O-Oh… my god. I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean to… I-I didn't…"

Hands shaking, Edward zipped his pants shut again, the flush still remaining on his face. "It's my fault for wanting to talk to him. Actually… I did expect him to try something and I thought I could handle it. Guess I was wrong."

"Edward… I'm so sorry. Did he do anything bad? Did he hurt you?" Without noticing it, Jackson stepped closer towards the teen again, only realising it when the younger alchemist flinched back against the wall. "S-Sorry."

"It's not you," Edward replied. "I know it's not your fault. It's just… your face and your voice… Even though Balor's face has a different expression and his voice sounds nothing like yours, but…"

"I know."

"I… um… guess I should go now." Edward turned to leave and soon after reached the door, but was stopped by Jackson.

"Edward, there's something else." Jackson waited until Edward turned around again and faced him. "The massacre of Kerry…" He trailed off, not wanting to believe his own words himself yet, "it might repeat."

Amber eyes widened, shock digging itself deeply into the teen's very conscience.

* * *

Finding the Fullmetal Alchemist turned out to be more difficult than the Colonel had thought. After about twenty-three minutes of aimlessly walking around and not finding the teen, he decided to deal with the search more logically. Where would a hot-headed and determined teen, that currently might be suffering from pill-induced hallucinations, go and hide?

"Last time, we found him in Hughes office," Mustang mumbled. The man had many rooms he could decide to search in. "Guess I'll have to look into all offices until I find him." _In case he really is still here. What if he already left Headquarters and is now running around town again? _The thought caused Mustang to narrow his eyes and worry to coil inside of him. He sharply turned around, rushing into the direction he knew Hughes' office would be. _I need Maes to let some people search for him, otherwise–_

His thoughts were interrupted by soft, muffled sounds coming from behind a door. Ridden by curiosity, Mustang walked over to the door, staring at it for a while and listening to the noises coming from behind it. "Seriously?" he uttered quietly, opening the door with an incredulous frown plastered on his face. "A bathroom?" His gaze immediately caught sight of the crouching form of his subordinate. Not knowing if it was safe to approach the teen and close the distance between them, Mustang knelt down where he stood. "Fullmetal," he called.

After a slight jerk of his body, Edward's head slowly rose from where it rested on his knees pulled to his chest. He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but no word passed his lips. In a dazed fashion he looked around and eyed his surroundings, seeming as if he was seeing it for the first time.

_Is this what Alphonse was talking about?_ Mustang mused. _He seems as if he doesn't know where he is._

"How the hell did I get here?"

With that tiredly mumbled sentence the older alchemist's thoughts and suspicions were assured. Something was _definitely_ wrong with Edward Elric. "Fullmetal?" The man waited until the blonde's dazed gaze slowly wandered over to him. He then carefully rose from his crouched down position to walk over to the teen, step for step, until he was only a metre away. "Come on, say something!"

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Edward spat venomously.

A smug smirk appeared on the Colonel's face. "You are aware that this is a public toilet, where anyone can enter, right?"

"Che." Huffing, Edward let his legs slide away from his chest and crossed his arms in front of it instead. "Can't I have some privacy?"

"Then go to your dorm room instead of going to a toilet." Still a little hesitant and unsure about the effect of his actions, Mustang approached the teen further and sat down beside Edward. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The Fullmetal Alchemist had turned his head away to avoid seeing the smirk of the older man. "Thinking. And you're interrupting me."

"What exactly where you thinking about?" the man asked gently, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the teen, arms crossed over his chest as well.

In an annoyed fashion, the blonde's head snapped towards Mustang. "You won't leave me alone until I tell you, huh?" The look the man shot was answer enough for Edward. With a sigh he removed his arms from his chest again, hugging his legs again. "Am I crazy?"

The Colonel seemed to think it over himself. "You know what Dr. Walker said: We can't tell if what you're experiencing is caused by those painkillers, or if it's solely a mental issue. We'll have to wait until the long-time effects of the painkillers have completely worn off."

"I know."

The Flame Alchemist kept silent for a moment, wary about what to say next. "Do you know one of the most important rules regarding mind-ill people?"

"Crazy people don't know they're crazy," Edward replied with a sigh.

"Exactly."

"That doesn't apply to everyone that's crazy, you know. There are people with fucked up brains that know pretty well that they're crazy."

"But you being aware that you _might _be mentally ill shows that, even if it were true, it can't be that bad." Mustang tried his best to seem reassuring. "It means that you're in a state where you still are aware of your actions."

"Who says it will stay this way? What if I wake up tomorrow and jump out of a window because I think I can fly?"

"Then we'll simply have to tie you to your bed."

"That doesn't reassure me at all, useless bastard." The seemingly ever-present scowl deepened with every second passing. "Can't you say anything that would at least distract me?"

"Didn't you just say that I am a useless bastard? Then how would I be able to comfort you?"

"You aren't supposed to comfort me, idiot!"

"Then what _should_ I do?" Much to his annoyance, Mustang didn't receive any kind of response. For a while he simply stared at the wall ahead, musing about what to ask. "Why are you running away from me whenever I want to talk to you?"

"I'm not running away!" Edward immediately replied. "It's just… I hear these weird things when I talk to you." When the teen turned his head to look at the Colonel's face, he found onyx eyes incredulously looking at him. "I think it only happens when I'm scared in some way… At least that's how it happened the last times."

The Flame Alchemist averted his gaze away from the blonde to stare at the wall again. "And… what are those things you're hearing?"

"Screams of pain, pleads of mercy, complains of misery… They're pretty much speaking out what I am feeling, but at the same, I know that what's happening to them is much worse than what's happening to me. That's why their voices are making it even worse. Their words are faint and distant, but still there."

Those words caused Mustang's gaze to widen a little. He didn't remember many times where Edward had talked this openly about that kind of thing. Feelings.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall," Edward suddenly muttered. "Recompense injury with justice and recompense kindness with kindness. Why did I hear those things?"

The Colonel remained silent for a moment longer, before he answered. "Those are truly profound words. Where did you hear those from?"

"From… the voices. I never heard them before in my life."

"Then how…" Mustang trailed off, surprise catching up to him once again. "Never mind. I think you heard those things to encourage you. That it's all right for you to be weak at times, as long as you recover again. That when someone hurts you, you should handle it with a rightful mind."

The teen suddenly relaxed, leaning back against the wall. "I guess so…"

"I'm actually surprised that something like that came from your mind. Those _are_ really profound words, so I'm–" Something warm suddenly settling on his shoulder interrupted Mustang. When he looked down, he found Edward's head resting on his shoulder, the teen's eyes closed and soft snores leaving his mouth. With a small smile and slight annoyance lingering in the back of his mind, the man made moves to pick up the teen, letting his hands slide under Edward's knees and behind his back.

"Don't you dare carry me," the blonde suddenly slurred tiredly.

Mustang kept his hands where they were nonetheless. "Then walk to your dorm room instead of falling asleep."

"Too damn tired."

An exasperated sigh left the man. "Then I'll have to carry you."

"I'm not a girl, perverted bastard."

"Then on my back." Mustang ignored the tired teen's further complains and simply placed him on his back, wrapping his arms around the teen's legs dangling at his sides. His patience though was nearing its end when Edward started hitting his head and ranting along. Only slowly he felt the blonde's struggles weakening until they completely seized. The younger alchemist's breathing evened out and his body slackened against the Flame Alchemist's back. "Finally," Mustang whispered.

* * *

Jeez, I thought I'd never get this finished. It's getting really hard for me to keep writing this because my brain is leaking and I'm loosing creativity for this. Guess I'll have to rely on my brain-storming notebook again.

One question to you guys: Does anyone know where those things that Ed heard came from? A movie, a book, maybe even an anime, some person. Can anyone get it right? It's not that hard to find out though… Ah well.

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! :D Chapter 17 on next Friday… hopefully.

Benze ;P


	17. Beginning of Doom

We finally hit the 10,000 hits mark, my lemons! :D (A/N from much later: nearly 40,000 by now) This is just _awesome_! I've been waiting for this moment a while now and now it's finally here! The number of hits now reached its fifth digit! *happily throws around confetti*

Oh! And I'm officially a member of _the _**Dollars Group** now! :D Anyone that doesn't know Durarara! won't get this, but to anyone who wants to join and needs the password to get access to the page: Leave a review asking and I'll PM you to tell you the password (or send you an e-mail in case you're not signed up here). It's not a joke! Look here: http:/ dollars-group. com (remove the spaces).

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XVII  
– Beginning of Doom –

Windows were being shattered by stones, people lying on the ground were being kicked and hit, men and woman were fighting each other, fearing and battling for their lives. Central City was in an uproar, for fights were taking place on some of its many busy streets. Men were ruthlessly hitting the citizens, ignoring the fact that they were beating up innocent people, causing desperation to rise and the air to thicken with agony.

A group of thirty-five people was rushing around, bringing down the rebellious people and saving those in dire need of help. Within that group were Edward and Alphonse, who were helping the Amestrian soldiers to gain control over the city again and let peace prevail.

The older Elric had been assigned to the task force that was supposed to handle the uproars taking place in Central City. Still, no one knew what exactly had happened and only a phone call from one of the soldiers guarding the area had led their attention to the streets on which everything was happening. The city was usually peaceful, so none of the citizens knew how to react to people suddenly hitting each other and destroying things randomly.

Panic was arising and men and women were becoming more desperate. Fires were starting to break out, a loud bang suddenly echoing throughout the whole city. An explosion? The frightened screams and yells of children could be heard wherever the soldiers went, crying women and injured men lining their way. Instead of the usual calm air, only chaos dominated.

Edward had problems finding out who he was supposed to knock out. Everyone was hitting on everyone and the rest was running away, injured, crying, scared. The teen, running past the people he knew would be scarred for life, decided to simply make those that were fighting unable to continue to fight, meaning that he either kicked them in the guts, or hit the back of their necks with precise force to send them into unconsciousness. But whenever he knocked someone out, the next person started a fight behind his back. Alphonse was caring for the injured people, mostly the helpless children. They did flinch back at first, since the teen stuck in an armor looked terrifying, especially in such a situation. Once he talked to them though, they let him lead them to a safer place.

Some of the soldiers were frantically trying to extinguish the flames madly licking at the houses, but weren't able to stop the fire from extending from house to house, sending people's homes into their doom.

Edward walked past the victims and tried to block out their pain in order to be able to catch those that had caused all the misery. When he rounded a corner, he was met by the sight of someone throwing torches into a store. Not wasting any time, he rushed over to the person. "Stop it!" he yelled.

Obviously caught red-handed, the person's eyes widened in shock and it turned to run away.

The blond teen huffed in annoyance, knowing very well that he would catch up sooner or later. But even though he was faster, it seemed impossible to actually get closer to the stranger. Whenever Edward got close, the person rounded random corners swiftly, seeming to know the city's street system very well. The blond alchemist rounded corner for corner, but couldn't get a hold of the arsonist. True bafflement befell him when he rounded yet another corner and the stranger had suddenly disappeared. There weren't any steps heard and only an empty alley was seen. Edward turned around, eyeing his surroundings cautiously, but didn't find anything. "Damn it all! What the fu–"

Suddenly, something clamped over the teen's mouth, making him unable to utter any sounds. He started to struggle, but strong arms wrapped around his torso and lifted him off of the ground. His only way of struggling was kicking air and screaming against the hand.

"Shhh," someone shushed him in a low voice. "Be quiet or they'll find us."

The voice was calm and sounded awfully familiar, but, slightly deafened by the earlier bangs and loud screams, Edward couldn't make out to whom it belonged. He decided to trust whoever was holding him and halted his struggles. The person holding him swiftly moved behind a wall, steps suddenly echoing and nearing them.

_"He must be here!"_ someone called. _"I saw him running this way. Search for him and kill him as soon as you see that guy!"_

Amber eyes widened at the words spoken. Someone intended to kill the one holding him? Just then he noticed that the man's arms weren't just holding him, but also were wrapped around him in a protective manner.

Finally, the steps subsided and the voices disappeared, leaving Edward to release a sigh. Relief washed over him as the person finally put him down onto his own feet again and the man removed his hands. After a sharp turn, the blonde was faced with someone he knew all too well. "Havoc!"

The older blonde was grinning at him with a lop-sided smile, blue eyes glinting with mischief. "I thought I'd surprise you a little, chief."

"There are people killing each other here and you want to surprise me?" Edward inquired incredulously.

The smile on the man's face faltered a little. "Well… if you say it like that… Okay, I get it. It wasn't funny."

"What was this all about anyway?" the Fullmetal Alchemist continued. "Who were those people and what did they want from you?"

"Us. They're after _us_. Somehow they seem to have something against us soldiers. At first they were attacking civilians, but as soon as we showed up, they started attacking us instead. I don't really get what's going on here myself right now." The man obviously wasn't unfazed by the events of the day, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Maybe _they_ caused all this uproar to lure us out," Edward assumed.

Havoc let his hand fall from the back of his head, curiosity now lying in his gaze. "You mean that we were their target from the very start?" When he received a nod as a response, the blond man shook his head denyingly. "That can't be. Why would Amestrians attack us? They don't have a reason to… unless they're…"

"Not Amestrians," the younger blonde finished the thought.

A look of concentration settled on Havoc's face. "They could be from Drachma or Aerugo."

"I don't think so. Drachma signed a Pact of Non-Aggression with our government and Aerugo is way too diplomatic to bluntly attack us like this. It's more of a trade country than a war country."

"That leaves us with Ishval, Xing and Creta," Hughes mumbled. "We can cancel out Ishval, since the ones that attacked us didn't have any Ishvalan traits. We aren't engaged in any wars with Xing, which gives us Creta."

"People from Creta are attacking us."

"But why?" Havoc questioned. "We are only engaged in border wars with Creta, so why do they attack Central City? It's not even near the borders. Are they planning to weaken our forces or something?"

"Maybe. But those people didn't wear the Cretan army's uniform."

The blond man's eyes narrowed. "You think they were civilians?"

"Yeah," the teen replied, nodding.

"That makes it even more complicated! Why would Cretan citizens rush in here and attack us! What baffles me the most is how they even got here! It's already hard enough for someone not-Amestrian to _leave_, but for someone from outside to _enter_ it's nearly impossible! Especially for this many people! There's no way they could've entered without someone high-ranked helping them."

"What you're saying is that there's a traitor?" Edward asked and received a nod from the older blonde. _Is this what Jackson was talking about? _"We can think that over _after _we dealed with those dumb-asses."

A small grin appeared on the Second Lieutenant's face. "Of course. Let's go! We still need to kick some asses, chief." The man's words were being emphasized by a loud bang reaching their ears. "We should hurry," he mumbled, running off.

Nodding, Edward followed after the man, both of them heading towards the source of the noise. People came running their way, obviously fleeing from what had caused the noise. The two blondes were becoming anxious of what was awaiting them. Both held their breathes when they finally reached their destination.

A building had completely collapsed, either burying people beneath it or injuring them with the heavy bricks having been flying around. There were at least sixteen people lying in pools of their own blood and about nine were buried beneath the heavy debris. Bloodied and unmoving. It was a truly gruesome scene. Dirt and dust, stirred up by the building having broken down, was slowly descending downwards, lowering itself onto the ruins and bodies like a shroud over a corpse.

When the fog of dust had dissolved a litte, Havoc was able to make out a single person standing in between the debris. _What is he doing there?_ Shielding his eyes with his right arm, he walked into the direction where he saw the figure lingering, stepping over bricks and crushed furniture. The closer he got to the person, the more suspicious the blond man became. He stopped dead in his tracks when he was close enough to see the person's face, recognizing the man. He grit his teeth, ready to lunge at the man if necessary. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The man turned around with a look of puzzlement. "Um… Sorry, but do I know you?" he asked.

"No. But I know you." Havoc narrowed his gaze into a venomous glare.

Finally, Edward arrived, immediately noticing the air of rage surrounding the older blonde. "Havoc, what are you–" He spotted the man still curiously looking at Havoc.

"Edward!" the other man called. "I'm glad to find you here. There's something important I need to–"

Havoc's voice cut in. "So this is how you persuade your victims, huh? Acting all friendly, wanting to 'tell them something'. Then you lure them to some place where no one can hear their screams. Isn't that right, you sick bastard?"

The Fullmetal Alchemist shot the man a shocked look. _He can't possibly know about Jackson being court-martialed because of the rape. Only the court-martial, the Colonel and Hawkeye know about it beside me and him. _"Havoc, what are you talking about?"

The older blonde clenched his jaw, turning his face towards Edward, his features relaxing a little. "He's the one that violated you! How can you ask something stupid like that!"

"How do you–"

"Mustang told me last night!" Havoc snapped. "We were out drinking and he started talking about all this! And before we left, I looked into some files in the Colonel's desk. I know everything! How this guy raped you and how he's blackmailing you into lying to the court-martial and giving a false testimony."

"Wait, you got it completely wrong!" the teen insisted. "Jackson isn't–"

"Just what did he do to you that you are even too afraid of telling the truth to us?" Havoc wasn't buying what Edward was telling him. "We are your comrades! How can you be so afraid of one sick bastard?"

"Shut up!" the blond teen yelled at the man. "You have no clue what you're talking about! I don't know_ what_ the Colonel bastard told you, but I definitely know what I'm doing! I'm not scared, I'm not hiding anything and I'm definitely not being threatened!"

Havoc relaxed, but the scowl never faltered from his face. "Jackson is Cretan, right?" He shot an inquiring glare at Edward and a menacing one at the other man. "Couldn't it be that he has something to do with this? He has the connections and would have been able to allow these people to pass the borders."

For the first time, Jackson spoke up for himself. "I'm not even in the military anymore!"

"You still have links to your former subordinates," Havoc insisted. "You must have at least one subordinate that's still loyal to you, even after this debacle!"

More and more rage coiled up in Edward. "Shut the hell up, Havoc! Don't act as if I'm something frail and weak that needs to be protected from everything!"

"You _are_ frail!" the older man yelled back. He only felt a small pang of regret when he saw the teen's incredulous face. "You've been raped at least two times, you have a problem with your pain killers and for some reason you lied to the court-martial! You _are_ weak, chief! Something is definitely wrong with you!"

The Fullmetal Alchemist was fuming by now and shaking, but if it was from shame or rage no one could tell. "I'm not weak!" he shrieked, storming towards Jackson and grabbing the man's arm.

Surprise caught the Cretan man. "W-What–"

The teen grunted, dragging Jackson with him. "We're going."

"Chief!" Havoc yelled, walking after them. "You can't–"

"Oh yes, I can!" Edward didn't even turn around and kept pulling the still surprised Jackson after him. "Now stop following us!"

"I won't! I can't just let you–" Out of nowhere, a fist collided with the blond man's jaw, the force powerful enough to send him towards the ground. The next thing he saw was Edward turning and running away from him, dragging his supposed violator after himself.

"You don't know _anything_!" he heard the blond teen yell, his voice becoming fainter. "So shut the fuck up!"

Jackson still was slightly shaken up, wondering about the teen's attitude. _How can he be so casual around me? He's been angrier at his colleague than with me. Shouldn't he be angry at me?_ "E-Edward, I really need to tell you something."

"That's why we're going," the younger alchemist replied flatly, ignoring the screams of anguish and noises of destruction around him.

"Can I ask you something?" The Cretan's voice was somewhat timid.

"What?" Edward's rage still sounded through his words.

Jackson almost stumbled over a stray stone lying on their way. "How can you ignore the noise here like this? Isn't it bothering you?"

The teen's eyes widened a little in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"You're not even flinching."

Edward released a small sigh. "I've learned to ignore and shut out this kind of noise the past days." Only three days had passed since Edward had been released from hospital. Even though Hawkeye had been protesting, Mustang had assigned him to the task force that was handling the uproars on the streets. _I still need to ask the bastard some things. As soon as this is all over, I'm gonna question him a little._

"Then… does this have something to do with what the other guy said?" The older man's head bowed towards the ground. "Your problems with painkillers?" _Whatever happened to him, it's my fault._

"Kinda."

"O-Okay." Jackson kept silent, knowing that it must have been a sensitive topic for the teen, since he had snapped at his own colleague. He jumped a little when Edward suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, blankly staring ahead. Blinking, the soldier stared at the back of the teen's head in front of him. "What's wrong?"

Slowly, Edward turned around, sending a seemingly puzzled look at the man. "Where are we going?"

Jackson would have theatrically slapped a palm to his face, but having only one arm that was still being held by the other was making it impossible for him. He smiled a little at the whole ridiculousness of the situation.

The puzzled look on the blonde's face only deepened when the Cretan man suddenly smiled. "What?" Only then he noticed that he was still holding the man's arm and pulled away. He then saw that Jackson's right sleeve wasn't as hollow as it should have been. Moreover, there even was something that looked like a hand showing. "W-What…" He pointed at the man's right 'hand'.

"Oh, this?" Jackson replied. "It's a prothesis I got myself so I wouldn't look like a freak. It's nothing like automail though and I can't move my hand or anything. But because I still have my upper arm and elbow, I'm able to move it quite a bit." To prove his point, he flexed and extended his arm a few times. "It's only temporary until the first parts of my automail are finished, but it's still okay."

Now Edward also noticed that Jackson wasn't wearing his navy military uniform. He had known the man only in the attire of an Amestrian solider, but now he was wearing a short red jacket, a plain black shirt and dark pants. His boots though resembled the ones worn by soldiers. Then something happened that caught the teen by surprise. On Jackson's face a grin formed, the man raising a hand to scratch the back of his neck.

"Heh, I'm lucky I'm ambidextrous, otherwise I'd have some really serious problems." He then noticed Edward once again sending him a puzzled look, blinking. Hesitantly, he removed his hand from his neck, lowering his arms again as well. "W-What? Did I say something weird?"

"Not at all," Edward laughed. "You're…" He paused, still not quite knowing what to say. "You're a good guy."

"Um… You think?" The nod Jackson received from the teen let another smile appear on his face. "Thanks." Another bang ripped through the air, making clear to both what was happening around them. "I think we should go. Come on, I know a place where we can talk. The others from the task force should be able to handle this without you for ten minutes." Now the Cretan was leading the way and walked into another labyrinth of alleys. Apparently, the man knew exactly where he was going, since they reached their destination after only about three minutes. Jackson grabbed the handle of a door placed in the ground and pulled it open. "This is an entrance to the sanitary sewer, but this it's an unused part and the real sewer system starts farther away, so we're safe from everything when we stay here."

They first climbed down a ladder and when they were all the way down, both settled with sitting on the cold and dry ground beneath them, Edward's automail clanking and sending echoes throughout the sewer system.

"So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" the teen asked. "Is it about what you told me back then and what's going on right now? Is _this_ what you were talking about?"

Jackson shook his head. "It has something to do with what I told you, but it's nothing close to the thing I meant. _This _is only the prelude and it's going to be much worse."

"What are you talking about?" Edward insisted. "I still don't understand."

"The massacre of Kerry will repeat here in Amestris."

"Are you saying that what's coming is worse than _this_?"

The blond man simply nodded. "A group of revenge-seeking Cretans has formed. At first only the few survivors of Kerry gathered. 143 woman survived, but most of them are already past their forties and fifties. Only about thirty of the woman, the younger ones, belong to this group of people. Then there are the seventeen children that survived, me and my cousin included. By making a little research, I found out that my cousin Brian is with the Cretan army right now. There are about fifty survivors of Kerry that are part of this group, but the thing is that many other Cretans joined them, so the group is rather large now and could have five-hundred or even a thousand members, I really can't tell. Since I'm Cretan myself, I was able to become part of this group, but they still don't fully trust me because I _was_ part of the enemy's army. They trusted me enough though to tell me some things about the revenge they're planning."

"They're planning revenge? But the citizens of Amestris don't have anything to do with what happened in Kerry!"

"Retaliation. An eye for an eye. Equivalency of the pain inflicted. That's what they're preaching within their group. They see justice in avenging their lost comrades, their family and friends that were killed in the massacre. Many of the women lost their husbands and the children that are now my age lost their parents, their older brothers and sisters, their whole family."

Edward went silent for a moment, thinking it all over. "What should we do about this?" he then asked.

"I'm going to try and earn more of their trust, so that they'll entrust me with more precise information. I still don't know what their target of vengeance is, so I need to be with them for a little while longer."

"And what can I do?"

"You know that it's impossible for Cretans to enter Amestris and pass the borders, right? Them being here in such a huge number means that someone within the Amestrian army helped them."

The younger alchemist nodded. "I guessed so."

"Meaning that someone is betraying the Amestrian government. The first step of stopping what the avengers are planning is finding this traitor. When we bring him down, an important link of the group is missing. They won't be able to intrude here easily anymore."

"What if there is more than one person helping them?"

"That's what I need you for," the Cretan man uttered, a determined look lying in his gaze. "Try to find these people. Right now, you and me are the only ones outside of the group of avengers that know what's going on, but maybe you can get some people you trust together. But be careful with this. Anyone you might trust could be a traitor, so you have to be completely sure they're on our side before you entrust them with these informations."

Edward nodded sharply, mind set on his new purpose. "Okay. I'll do my best."

"Remember the date, Edward. We have time until the anniversary of Kerry's massacre, where the avengers will make their planned move. The ninth of June will be the day Amestris might perish in chaos."

_That's in three weeks! _"O-Okay. Was that everything?"

"Yeah. We should go now, or that colleague of yours will rip off my head next time he sees me."

"He will anyway," Edward replied calmly, standing up. "Though he's not the most intelligent person around, he makes it up by being clever and having common sense." Together with Jackson he climbed out of the entrance, hearing the bangs more clearer again.

"He could be one of the traitors," the Cretan man replied, leading the way out of the labyrinth of alleys.

"I don't think so. Havoc is a loyal person and I just can't think of him as someone that would betray his comrades."

"Sounds as if he were a good ally for our plans."

"He would be, definitely. And don't say 'our plans'. It sounds as if we were some criminals or something."

"All right then," Jackson replied with a smile. "Whatever you want."

Edward still was stunned at how casually they were acting with each other and how open the man had become towards him. _Almost as if… we were friends._ "You seem so happy."

"That's because I followed your advice and disposed of my wish for revenge. When I first heard about the avengers' plans, it made me realise just how futile my plans were. Wanting revenge gets me nowhere, especially against someone like Envy. My wife wouldn't be happy about it either, so I decided to live on and forget about it."

"That's… awfully mature."

The man's smile widened a little. "I _am_ thirty-five after all."

"You don't seem like it," Edward replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Eh? Why not?"

"Dunno." The teen shrugged nonchalantly. "You just… act a little childishly at times."

"Says the kid that goes ranting whenever someone calls him short."

"Who do you call short enough to be a car's hood ornament?" the teen yelled, fuming.

Jackson, in response, broke out into a fit of laughter, though the screams and bangs soon silenced him again. "I should go now. Don't get yourself killed!" With that, the man ran off, leaving the teen feeling awkward about the whole situation.

"Creepy…" Edward muttered, climbing out to the streets again. "He isn't supposed to be like this." Truth be told, Edward had felt comfortable talking to the man, even though the anxiety had lingered in the back of his mind. _Am I actually starting to forgive him? _When Edward turned around to walk away, he jumped in surprise.

Havoc suddenly stood in front of him, scowling down at the teen. "What were you doing with him?"

"None of your business."

The man narrowed his piercing blue eyes. "Just what are you doing, chief? The reports clearly show that you stated that Jackson was the one to violate you, but now you… you laughed together with him! What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you lying?"

"I. Am. _Not_. Lying!" Edward replied through gritted teeth. "How often do I have to say it!"

"Until I'm convinced that you're saying the truth."

The scowl disappeared completely from Edward's face and was replaced by an emotionless mask. "We have things to do. Let's go." Not waiting for the man, Edward ran off towards another group of three people hitting others.

Havoc's features softened again and openly showed his worry. He shook his head, denying the thought that lurked around in his mind. _When Jackson didn't rape him, then who was it?_

* * *

The blond teen's heavy steps ricocheted from the walls of the corridors, his shadow, falling onto the concrete floor, short and vague. He was storming towards Mustang's office, having decided to confront the man with a few things. The hallway he was in was empty and vacant, since it was an older part of the building and no one willingly used one of the shabby rooms. Only because it was a short cut to the Colonel's office did the Fullmetal Alchemist pass this part of the building.

Suddenly, a familiar sensation let a gasp escape from the teen's mouth.

Like a knife boring into the back of his neck and sending cold shivers down his spine. It was as if his blood was freezing in his veins, making his movements stiff. This time it was different though. It was much more aggressive and fierce, more frightening. There were light steps sounding behind him, the sound so faint that Edward himself didn't believe his own senses. _Didn't the painkillers wear off a while ago already?_

He didn't dare to look back, fearing what it was that was nearing him. The louder and clearer the steps were becoming, the heavier the sensation was becoming on the teen, pushing him down and almost drowning him in its density.

Laughter rang out from out of nowhere. They seemed to originate from behind Edward.

Puffs of breathe suddenly hit the left side of the alchemist's face. Warm arms wrapped around him, pulling him close to a broad chest.

"You really are a cute one…" a deep and ominous voice sounded, "Edward Elric."

* * *

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN!

The day has come, guys. I can't handle weekly updates anymore and from now on will upload new chapters every two weeks. School is starting next week and I'm going to be in a new class and all. I was barely able to finish one chapter a week and I had holidays. From now on though, I won't be able to write as much anymore. A while ago, I was able to handle weekly updates pretty well, even with school, but I realised that it's not my creativity making me problems, but the writing itself. I sometimes just have this moments where I know what I want to write, yet can't find the right words to write it out. So from now on I will give myself more time to finish chapters.

Meaning: Chapter 18 will be up in two weeks, on September 3.

Thank you for reading everyone and special thanks to those that review :D. Visit me on deviantART! I uploaded a lot of successful stuff lately (mainly colorations of the D Gray-Man manga): benze-chan. deviantart .com (just remove the spaces to use the link ;D).

Benze ;P


	18. A Gory Proof of Affection

New chappy… yay! XP I somehow managed to start this one and a half week ago, be lazy all the time and still finish it all XD. Man, I'm awesome… Gah! I'm totally out of my mind! I'm so not awesome! D: Just… don't mind my random talking, ne, my lemons?

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

Warning: This chapter contains slight gore.

* * *

_Puffs of breathe suddenly hit the left side of the alchemist's face. Warm arms wrapped around him, pulling him close to a broad chest._

_"You really are a cute one…" a deep and ominous voice sounded, "Edward Elric."_

* * *

Chapter XVIII  
– A Gory Proof of Affection –

"Let me go!" Edward yelled. "Who are you anyway?"

Chuckles sounded, amused yet malicious. "Did you forget about me already?"

_It's not Jackson, that's for sure_, the blonde conceived. _Is it someone I know? But I don't recognize his voice. Did I meet him before?_

The man sighed into the teen's neck. "Is Jackson that much on your mind that you forgot about me?"

"I don't know you, dammit!" The Fullmetal Alchemist started to wiggle around in the man's grip, but wasn't able to free himself. Instead of the grip loosening, Edward felt a hand traveling over his stomach and slowly slipping beneath his shirt. _Are you serious? Why does everyone feel the urge to molest me? I'm not a damn helpless girl! _"Stop it, you pervert! I'm sick of this!" In order to protect himself, the blonde kicked the man behind him in the shin, earning a yelp of surprise and pain. A small smile of victory found its way to his face and he kicked the man again, hoping he would loosen his grip.

"You shouldn't have done that." The man's voice was dripping with pure venom. "I'm going to teach you a lesson. You should consider respecting your superior officers more."

_Superior officer? Is he a soldier?_ "What are you–" Edward wasn't able to finish his sentence, for he was suddenly spun around and slammed against a wall, the back of his head hitting the surface with a bang. His vision blurred and sounds only reached his ears in a muffled fashion, so he wasn't able to identify the face that suddenly appeared in front of his face. It was only a blob of hazy color in his sight.

"Oh? So silent all of the sudden. I wonder what happened." The man's chuckles were mocking, but at the same time showed that he was enjoying himself. "You are weaker than I thought."

_I'm not weak_, the blond teen told himself._ Everyone's just so damn sneaky and taking advantage of the moments when I'm dropping my guard! _"Fuck off!" The man's hand returned to his stomach, fingers suddenly slipping towards the waistband of his pants. _Jeez, why does everyone want to get into my pants?_ Edward continued his struggles, but to no avail. The stranger's fingers slipped into the front of his pants nonetheless, nails grazing his skin.

The stranger hummed, feeling the soft skin beneath his fingers. "Haven't you noticed yet, Edward? The reason why everyone wants you this badly?"

_This is getting seriously ridiculous. _"I don't know what you mean. I'm not doing anything."

"Hoh? Then you're not even noticing it? How you're seducing everyone with–"

"I'm not seducing anyone!" the blonde yelled. "What the fuck is this crap?"

The man released another series of amused chuckles. "You're making everyone want you."

"Am not!" Edward yelled.

"With that silky and long, blond hair of yours, always wearing those tight leather pants. Don't you think that has an effect on people around you? You're handsome– no, adorable."

"I'm not a fucking puppy, you pedophiliac pervert!" The man's snickers sounding again only heightened his rage. "I'm not seducing anyone, you're just a damn pedophile!"

"You really think highly of yourself, don't you?"

Edward's vision slowly cleared again and he could finally make out the features of the man. _Who… _"Whelan?" He found his hands pinned against the wall above his hand by one of the man's hands.

"Oh? So you did remember me. Now that's pleasant." The man let his hand wander up and down the teen's abdomen, feeling the muscles and the warm skin. "How about becoming my subordinate, Edward? My Lieutenant Colonel recently retired and I need someone to–"

Edward only snarled at the brown-haired man. "Do you actually think I would want to have _anything_ to do with you after this?"

"Don't you want to get away from that bastard Mustang?" The man's features were graced with a smug expression.

"You're a way bigger bastard than he is!"

"That hurt my feelings, Edward. Don't you care about other people's well-being? Mustang always suppresses you instead of letting you do what you think is right. If you came to me, you would be free to–"

"Shut up! Everything's fine the way it is!"

"Then you like to be ordered around?" Whelan's hand traveled up along Edward's chest, until he felt a hard bud beneath his fingers. He twirled two fingers around it, feeling it harden beneath his touch. "You are easily aroused. That's a good thing."

A deep blush heated up the blonde's face, beads of sweat starting to trickle down his back. Instead of his planned retort, a gasp passed his lips when suddenly a hand cupped his crotch. "S-Stop."

"Ah, but you're enjoying it so much, Edward."

Suddenly, a new voice sounded. "And what is this supposed to be?"

Whelan glanced up to see furious onyx eyes. "Colonel Mustang, what a pleasure to meet you here," he purred with fake politeness.

"Let go of my subordinate this instant." Suppressed rage swung in the raven-haired man's voice, displaying the promise of burning up Whelan to ashes shouldn't he let go of the blonde.

Only slowly did Whelan retreat his hand from under Edward's shirt, but his grip on the teen's wrists stayed firm. "I was having a conversation with him. Don't you see that, Colonel?"

"I can't let that count as an answer." To clarify his words, Mustang rose his right hand, fingers poised to send vicious flames at the older man.

A small smile sprawled along the brown-haired man's face. "Aren't you afraid of hitting Edward?"

"I am skilled enough to control my flames in a way that will only hit you," the Flame Alchemist hissed. "Now let go of him."

"As you wish," Whelan hummed, lifting both his hands, his open palms towards the other man.

Immediately, Edward dashed away from the older Colonel and behind Mustang, feeling like a child hiding behind its big brother from the bully. Instead of clutching at the man's clothes though, he snarled at the older soldier from behind his superior. "Pervert," he hissed in a low voice.

This one word set Mustang's every faze on fire, bolts of hot anger causing his fist clenching at his side to shake. He was trapped in the seemingly never-ending cycle of worrying and bursting out in rage afterwards. "If you don't leave _now_, Colonel, I won't see another solution to this problem other than burning you to crisps with one snap of my fingers."

The man released something like an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Mustang. Don't tell me you never thought about fucking your subordinate. It's nothing unusual, you know? It'd be lying if you said that you never–"

"Shut up!" the raven-haired man cut in. "I'm not like you! We're going!" With that, the man turned around, grabbed Edward's arm and dragged him away. _He even admitted it, that bastard! He probably thinks he can do everything without anyone being able to do something about it!_

Their steps sounded back from the walls, creating the tune to their frantic 'escape'. Mustang never refrained from releasing his subordinate's arm until he had reached his destination: His office. He hastily pushed the door open, rushed past the vacant desks in front of his office and opened the door to enter the room. When he had pulled Edward in behind himself, he slammed the door shut, glaring at the blond teen when he turned around again. "What was that about?" he hissed.

The Fullmetal Alchemist's eyes widened for a moment, before narrowing into an indifferent scowl. "I got molested… _again_," he mumbled.

"I know that! But why is it that you can't protect yourself? You're not weak enough to not be able to protect yourself!"

"I-I don't know what's wrong!" the younger male snarled. "But they're stronger than me anyway! Both of them are higher ranked than me for a reason after all!"

"You fought against much worse guys than them."

"It's not the same. It's far from it! They're so… sneaky and when they approach me, I end up being in a situation I can't free myself out of!"

The raven-haired man released an exasperated sigh, regarding the blond with a tired expression. "Let's leave this for now."

Only for a short moment silence reigned, in which Mustang composed himself again and the Fullmetal Alchemist glared at his superior.

"I want to ask you something," Edward urged.

The tired expression on Mustang's face faltered, only to be replaced by confusion and curiosity, hidden behind his mask of casualty. "What would that be?"

The blonde couldn't stand to look the man in the eye, afraid of seeing his superior's reaction to his question. "Have you been there when the massacre of Kerry happened? Were you one of those to kill the citizens?"

"Kerry? That's the village where the assassins of the Lieutenant General came from. What do you mean by _massacre_ and _killing citizens_?"

"Then you don't know about it?" Despair lined each of the teen's voice.

"No," Mustang replied calmly. "What is there to know? Two of Kerry's citizens got arrested for being related to the murder of a high-ranked soldier of the Amestrian army. What else should there be to it?"

Edward released a heavy sigh of relief. _He isn't one of them._ He remembered Jackson's words, warning him from being careless with the informations he had received. "There is much more to it than you think. I don't want to tell you here, but I really need to let you know about it soon."

"What are you talking about, Fullmetal?"

"Just trust me, okay? It's important."

"Does this have something to with what happened today? The people suddenly attacking others and setting fires for no apparent reason?"

The blond teen simply nodded.

"Can't you tell me more?"

Edward released a sigh, eyeing the raven-haired man warily. "I… don't know. You could be one of the persons that never should know what I know."

"Do you really have this few trust in me?" Mustang asked, hurt swinging in his calm voice.

The blonde's gaze dropped to the ground, the teen unsure about what to reply. "It's not that! It's just… this is something important and my actions could decide wether or not we will survive!"

"Is this really _that_ important?" The Colonel received another nod as a reply. "Then what are you going to do now?"

"I'll tell you everything eventually, so for now I need to concentrate on what's most important. There's something I need to find out and soon."

"And you need me to get access to those informations?"

"Yeah," the Fullmetal Alchemist responded. "The information I need is probably concealed, otherwise the attack today wouldn't have worked. I need to go as soon as possible."

After Mustang had given him an approving nod, Edward walked out of the office, knowing that the Flame Alchemist was following him. He rushed to where he knew the library was and didn't waste any time actually greeting Sheska who fell off of her chair in surprise, after feeling caught when reading a book, even though she was supposed to work.

"I need the reports on the border traffic of the past month," Edward uttered hastily.

Sheska, who had opened her mouth to greet the familiar teen and had been interrupted, blinked in a dumbfounded at Edward's obvious agitation. "Those are a lot of reports."

That was the moment Mustang chose to step up. "Just give them to him!"

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Saluting, Sheska ran off and away from her desk to get the wanted documents.

The noise of something crashing and the somewhat clumsy woman screaming soon was heard. She returned with only a few papers, folders and files.

"These are all I could find," she wheezed out, breathing heavily after her frantic detour through the library.

"This is it?" Edward asked incredulously, his disappointment obvious. He took the small stack from the spectacled woman, eyeing it again. It was barely as thick as his wrist. "These are all the reports on the border traffic of the past four weeks?"

Sheska only shrugged sheepishly. "It's all I could find. Someone seems to have been here and took most of it, but at a time where I didn't have a shift."

"This is bad," Mustang muttered. "Do you know who had shift at the time the reports were taken?"

The woman placed an outstretched finger on her chin in thought. "Not really. I could only guess that Shisake might have been here at that time, but those reports could have been taken at any time, so I really don't know."

The Fullmetal Alchemist's head dropped towards the ground in defeat, the teen hearing Mustang's sigh behind him. Then suddenly a thought hit him. "Sheska, did you read the reports?"

"Uh… well… yes," the woman replied hesitantly, surprised by the sudden spark of excitement in the blonde's eyes.

"Then can you tell me something?" the teen asked.

Again, Sheska blinked, not quite knowing what to think about the situation. "Um… of course."

"Can you answer some questions about the border traffic of the past four weeks for me? It's really important."

"I-I can't do that," the woman exclaimed, frantically waving her hands in front of her chest.

"You have to, Sheska," Edward insisted. "Only you can do it. I just can't give up at this point. Believe me when I tell you that our future depends on this!"

The mousy brunette had sported a blush after the words _"Only you can do it"_ and hesitantly nodded. "Okay, I'll do it. What do you need to know?"

A small smile sprawled along Mustang's face, seeing his subordinate's persuasion skills.

The look of desperation that had crossed Edward's face made way for the excitement blooming in the teen's gaze. "Have there been any large trucks crossing the borders the past weeks? I mean _really _large ones with sixty feet load length or so?"

Sheska's gaze wandered towards a spot on the wall behind Edward when she started thinking and going through her memory. "I don't think so. There only have been trucks coming in with a forty foot load length."

"Then have there been trucks coming in for the same mission?"

"Hmm… yes, there was a steady incoming of trucks that were said to deliver bricks for some broken down houses here in Central. They always came two times each Monday, Tuesday and Friday."

Unconsciously, Edward made a small step towards the desk. "How thoroughly were they checked?"

"Not that much," Sheska replied. "The guards only opened the trucks, looked inside and then let them pass. For some reason, they didn't check it like they were supposed to, but no one seems to have cared."

"When did they start to come and how many have passed since then?"

One could see the brunette going through remembered documents and calculating the information. "The first one came on a Monday five weeks ago and since then, fourteen trucks passed the borders."

The blonde's eyes widened a little, before he turned around to face his superior. Mustang seemed to come to the same conclusion as Edward. _People were being snuck past the borders in a steady pace and someone had bribed the guards at the borders to let those trucks pass._

The Flame Alchemist had heard from Havoc about the presumption that Cretans might have been the attackers, but he hadn't believed it. The mere imagination of such a large number of people to be in Central, even though they weren't legal citizens, seemed impossible to him, since he trusted the strict guards at the borders. Now that he had received this part of information that guards could have let enemies pass, only one thought circled around in his mind. _Someone high-ranked within the Amestrian army helped outsiders to pass the borders._

After a moment of silence, Edward was the first to speak up again. "On who's name did those trucks pass? Who ordered them to drive here?"

Again, Sheska was lost in thoughts for a few moments. "The man that ordered them all… The name wasn't written there."

"What?"

The brunette flinched back a little at the teen's heated gaze. "It's true. For some reason, there wasn't a name on it."

"That's impossible!" Mustang exclaimed from behind his blond subordinate. "Something like that is an invalid order!"

"Well… it's not like there wasn't a name to begin with, more as if the name had been removed later."

Amber eyes narrowed in suspicion. "No one noticed?"

"The reports were brought here like this and taken away a day after," Sheska replied.

Incredulity lined the blonde's features, helplessness slowly beginning to numb his mind. "How's that possible?"

The mousy woman was growing helpless to the teen's questions. "I-I… that's…"

"Did someone threaten you?"

Sheska tensed up for moment, before surrendering to Edward's firm gaze. "Yes."

"Who?" the teen inquired.

The hesitance in Sheska's actions was evident. She obviously had been threatened not to loose a word about those certain files. "It's… It's a man called Brunon Rosomak. He always came here the day after the ones that the trucks passed the borders and took the reports."

_Then he's the traitor? _Edward mused. "Thanks a lot, Sheska-san." Waving at the woman, the teen ran off and out of the library, Mustang following him suit.

"Fullmetal!" the raven-haired alchemist called, but he was ignored by the teen continuing to run on. "Fullmetal! Tell me what this is about!"

The blond snarled inwardly at the man's insistence. "Shut up for a moment and just follow me, okay? We need to get to somewhere safe!"

"And what place would that–" Mustang's question was answered as soon as he saw the familiar door. "My office again?" Frowning a little, the Flame Alchemist walked after Edward, through the front room and into his office. Carefully, he closed the door behind himself, sending a glare at his subordinate. "Will you tell me now what's going on here?"

Edward nodded in response, smiling a little again. "You might have thought about it already, but there's a traitor within the Amestrian army. The mop of people that attacked civilians today consisted of Cretan people, a group of avengers. They invaded Amestris with the help of the traitor at a slow pace, a few people with each load that passed the borders by trucks."

"Why are Cretan people seeking revenge?" Mustang questioned. "I know about the border wars and that many people have been killed, but is that enough reason for such a large group of avengers to form?"

The Fullmetal shook his head in denial, amber gaze wandering towards the ground. "This isn't about the border wars…" He paused, knowing that the following part was the worst, "it's about the massacre of Kerry twenty years ago." Edward then related to the Colonel what Jackson had told him. He told the man the truth behind what the government had done to Creta and the fate of those that had lived in the once peaceful village, now nothing more than a plain field. "Those that survived and are still young enough formed this group of avengers and are now planning to take revenge on Amestris. They're planning to repeat the massacre here on the anniversary of the day that they lost their home and family."

Colonel Roy Mustang was truly dumbfounded by the revelation. Not only was there a group of avengers planning to bring doom down onto Amestris, but the cause of those people's hatred originated from one man's order. One man's order had destroyed those people's homes, had killed their families, had ruined their future, had taken hope and trust away from them. Driven by the anger about that cruelty, the Cretans were seeking revenge and Mustang couldn't contradict to that. Moreover, he understood their feelings. "So that traitor you were talking about… Is he this Rosomak?"

"Probably," the blonde replied. "We need to find him fast, otherwise we'll be pretty fucked if we don't stop this in time."

"How can I help?"

"Jackson told me that we first need to find out the identity of that damn traitor and also if there is more than one." A scowl found its way to Edward's face, the thought of someone among his colleagues being a traitor rushing through his mind.

"I think we should monitor Rosomak's actions for a while. We have to find out soon wether or not there are more than one Amestrian soldiers helping the Cretans."

This time, Edward didn't have the time to nod in approval, for suddenly a loud bang sounded throughout the building, ricocheting from the walls and sending waves of vibrations up their bodies. "W-What happened?" the blonde exclaimed.

Frantically, Mustang stormed towards the door, hastily pulling it open to peer outside. Abruptly the man stepped back, slamming the door shut again. "Fullmetal," he called slightly breathless, "stay in here and wait until I get you!" With that the raven-haired Colonel swung the wooden door open again and left the room in a swift motion, leaving behind a startled teen.

"Wha… Wait!" The hot-blooded blonde attempted to go after the man, but didn't want to cause any trouble. Mustang had a reason to tell him to stay back, right? Edward wasn't weak, no. The only reason the man had kept him inside was… What? Didn't the Colonel trust him anymore? Didn't he trust his abilities anymore? Did the Fullmetal Alchemist seem that vulnerable and weak to him? By now the blonde was shaking in frustration. This one little action – harmless or not, he didn't know – had caused a turmoil in his mind. He didn't know what to think of Mustang anymore, what to think of himself anymore. Frustration pent up over weeks came crashing down onto him in a wave of uncertainty and doubts.

Outside of the office, screams soon were heard, bangs ringing out and the sound of windows crashing echoing.

_What the hell is going on out there? _Even though the Colonel had given him and order, Edward couldn't resist the urge to wanting to see what was wrong. What if someone was being hurt? It was obvious that something bad was happing, since the screams and shouts were becoming more panicked and frightened. Ignoring Mustang's previous warning, Edward stormed towards the door to pull it open. He rushed through the front room, files and documents covering the lone desks. The moment he opened the door to the corridor was the moment that Edward had to witness yet another gruesome scene in his life.

A man suddenly rushed in front of him, arms spread out and head hanging low. Suddenly the sound of an explosion reached the blonde's ears. Next thing he knew he felt something warm hitting him, his chest, his face. It was red and hot, burning his skin with its fiery wetness. The sound of it splattering everywhere sent shivers along the teen's spine.

Blood was splattered along the door and wall he was standing in front of, crimson drops trailing downwards and creating tiny paths of the still warm fluid. Cracks lined the wall, originating from the spots where stray bullets had dug themselves into the surface.

With panic written all over his face and bolts of fear shooting throughout his body, setting his nerves on edge, Edward watched the man collapse in front of him, ending up as an unmoving heap of flesh and bones covered in crimson blood. Even the short raven-black hair was glistening with the ruby color.

* * *

Mwahahahahahahahaha! Yet another Dun-Dun-Duuun!-moment has found its way out of my mind! :D

Some of you might have noticed, but I'm letting some things open and for you to decide. For example the question if Laura Jackson loved Draigen, Balor or both and if she was aware of Draigen's disorder. Then the thing about Edward feeling someone following him in previous chapters: Was it Balor or his imagination? Those are things I won't be going into further, so it's up to you to decide ;D.

**At Backup B and Hina Kita**: I decided to reward you two for reviewing so much in the past! :D I started the TYOS for **brz** a while ago already and I'm planning to put the story-line she wished for into a Two-Shot. Since she hasn't reviewed in a long time and I'm having problems finishing the second part, you two can tell me your wishes for it and help me that way. PM me and tell me if you want to accept my offer and I'll tell you how far I made progress with the story. You two then can give me suggestions and wishes for how the story should continue :D. Ne, doesn't that sound good?

Chapter 19 will be up on September 17! :D

Benze ;P


	19. Weighed Down by Guilt

Free manga FTW! :D The clerk at our Japan shop offered me to hand out flyers for an hour together with my friend and sister and afterwards we could choose whatever manga we liked. As long as it wasn't over the limit of 6,50€ we could choose anything from the shop we wanted! ^^ I'm doing that with my friend and sister every Tuesday from now on and I'll never have to pay for my manga again!

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XIX  
– Weighed Down by Guilt –

The steady rising and falling of the raven-haired man's chest finally calmed Edward a little. He had stood in front of the room ever since the man had been brought to Headquarters' hospital wing, soldiers still taking care of the intruders.

Somehow, Cretan civilians had managed to enter the usually strictly guarded military base and attacked Amestrian soldiers randomly. They had lurked in front of Mustang's office, waiting for the Fullmetal Alchemist to come out. But when said teen had come out, the bullets from the men's shotguns hadn't hit him, but the man that had protected him with his own body and now was lying in a hospital room, struggling to keep living.

Noticing that they were out of bullets, the men had just ran off, throwing their weapons at Edward and hoping to injure him at least a little. They hadn't been all too clever.

Only three of the bullets had gone right through the soldier and had hit Edward behind him. They hadn't had enough power to pierce his skin and only had caused vicious bruises and cuts. Edward's saviour hadn't gotten off that lightly though. At least fifteen bullets had pierced the man and seven had ripped open the skin of his arms. His lung had been hit, several organs had been damaged, forcing the doctors to remove a kidney, but he was still alive. That was what was most important to the blond teen: He was still breathing.

Edward hadn't been allowed to enter the room yet and for three days he had spent most of his time in front of the door, Alphonse with him most of the time. Every now and then, Hawkeye and the others would come by and also tell him to rest, but guilt weighed him down enough to fixate him to the chair in front of the room. Someone had nearly died because of his disobedience towards his superior's order.

"Edward?" a voice suddenly called.

The blond averted his gaze to the left and spotted an elderly man approaching him.

"You're here again," the man mumbled in a sad fashion when he had reached the teen. "I'm seeing you way too often." Dr. Walker's face only saddened more when the teen's gaze dropped to the ground again.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "This is all my fault. If I had done what the Colonel told me to do, then he wouldn't be… in this state."

Dr. Walker reached out to reassuringly place a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Trust me when I tell you that this man won't die that easily. He is the Flame Alchemist for a reason."

"But… just hoping and trusting won't help. His lung has been hit and vital organs are damaged. There's no way he could survive this!" With each second passing and each word falling, Edward was becoming more desperate, finally realising the futility of the situation. "There's only a minimal chance of him surviving."

Even the kind words of the doctor couldn't banish the feelings of regret and worry from the blond teen's mind and Dr. Walker knew that from experience. "Don't overdo it, Edward," was all he said, before turning and walking off again.

Just when the man had disappeared after rounding a corner, new steps echoed and approached the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Hey, chief!" someone called. "You still hanging around here?" Serene worry swung in Havoc's voice when he noticed the dull look in Edward's eyes. He didn't receive a response, which only deepened his concern. "You need to take better care of yourself." Still no response. "At least tell Alphonse about this and talk to him! Maybe you'll feel better!"

"I need to tell you something," Edward suddenly interrupted the man in a firm voice. "Let's go somewhere safe." He walked off expecting Havoc and Hawkeye, standing behind him, to follow him.

The three walked down only a few corridors until the blond alchemist entered a room: Mustang's office.

"So what is it you want to tell us?" Havoc inquired. "Is it about what happened to the Colonel? You don't have to–"

"It's not that!" the teen nearly snapped. "Just listen." Edward then told Havoc and Hawkeye the same things that he had said to Mustang. About the massacre of Kerry, the group of Cretan avengers and their plan of revenge.

Hawkeye's hazel eyes were fixed solely on the teen's face. "How can we stop this?"

"Jackson told me he would be giving us informations on the group by infiltrating it," Edward continued. "Our job is it to find out if there is more than one traitor and to find those. Cretans getting into Headquarters at that time was because a traitor somehow gave them the opportunity."

The blond man eyed Edward closely, searching the teen's features for any signs of him making a joke. "How do we start?" he then asked, trusting the teen.

"I have a name," the Fullmetal Alchemist replied. "Brunon Rosomak definitely is a traitor and I think we should observe him a little. Maybe we can find out something then."

Havoc didn't have to think that over long. "Sounds reasonable enough to me. Seems like we have to hurry with all this, so just let me go get the others, then we can start observing that guy." After receiving a small smile and a nod from the younger blond, the Second Lieutenant ran off to inform Fuery as well as Falman.

Left behind was Edward with Hawkeye literally staring him down, concern hardly seen in ger gaze, but still there.

"Does the Colonel know about this?" the blond woman asked sternly.

Edward simply nodded, regret resurfacing. "I told him right before he was shot."

This caused Hawkeye to keep silent for the rest of the time. Together they eagerly waited for Havoc to return, listening to the rain hitting the room's window from outside and the wind pulling at the frame, making it rattle quietly.

The door burst open after ten minutes with the breathless Havoc grinning with a somewhat sly grin and Breda, Fuery and Falman standing behind him. "We can start," he managed to say between pants.

* * *

Lieutenant Colonel Rosomak was a rather uninteresting person. He was an average man that had joined the army at the age of twenty-three and had been serving the army for twenty-one years ever since. He lived in a house that wasn't too small and not too big, seated in a quiet part of Central City. Everyday, he went to work, Sunday being his day off, and signed his documents, filed stacks of papers, organized missions for the subordinates of his superior, then went home again when his shift ended.

All in all: Had Edward not received the information from Sheska claiming that Rosomak definitely was a traitor, the man would've been one of the last he had suspected.

Now the teen was hiding in an abandoned house in the south of Central. Next to him knelt Havoc, eyes fixed on the scene outside of the window. Hawkeye and Breda were in the house opposite to them, while Fuery and Falman were supposed to inform them about the situation at the street from which Rosomak was supposed to appear from. They were slowly tensing up, waiting for the man to show up.

Fuery and Falman had summoned them to come there earlier, telling them that they had heard the man saying something about a transaction at that certain spot. At least an hour had passed and Rosomak would be appearing soon.

_"He's coming!"_ Fuery informed the others over the radio.

Immediately, Havoc stiffened a little, knowing that their following actions were important to Amestris surviving.

The soldiers in their hide-outs then spotted a man with gray strands lining his black hair walking towards the houses they were in. Another unfamiliar man came from the other side. Both of them carried something, Rosomak holding something that looked like files and the other one an envelope.

_"On time as always, Rosomak-san," _the other man spoke up.

The corners of Rosomak's lips quirked up only slightly and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. _"I think it would be bad if I came late."_

_"So you have it?"_

The black-haired man only nodded, holding out the files to the other man. _"Here. Then you have that thing too?"_

_"Of course. How could I forget?"_ The brunette as well handed Rosomak his envelope, a sly smirk firmly plastered on his features. _"Did anyone follow you?"_

_"I was careful. No one knows I'm here."_

_"Good,"_ the man nodded. _"Then I need you to get me some more insight on a certain person."_

_"Name?"_

_"Roy Mustang. He's just a Colonel, but I think he could be a threat since he saw a few of our men during the attack. Everyone was able to come back without anyone else seeing them, those that actually saw them being finished off. Mustang is the only one. We need to eliminate him. Even though he's injured, he still is a threat to us and could counter our attack."_

_"Okay. Then we'll meet at the usual time at house 667."_

The green-eyed man only nodded again. _"Good. Then we'll see us again, Rosomak-san."_

_"Of course, Falcone-san."_

Edward noticed Havoc raising the radio to his mouth.

"Lieutenant, Breda, go get Rosomak when he leaves. Ed and I will take care of this Falcone-guy."

_"Understood,"_ Hawkeye's voice rang out from the radio with a crackle.

Havoc's azure gaze then shifted to the blond teen next to him. "You know what to do?"

"We're doing it like we planned," Edward replied, confidence lining each of his words.

Together they waited until the two men outside had turned around to leave, before quietly dashing out of the room and through the back door. They stopped at the wall next to the door, hearing the brunette's steps nearing them. Both held their breathes when they saw the man passing by them, turning his head towards them when Havoc firmly walked up to the man, scowling.

"You are arrested," the blonde man uttered threateningly.

Falcone only raised his eyebrows a little. "Oh? And what for?"

"You don't need to know that," Havoc replied. "Just come with us without any struggle."

Ignoring the blond man, Falcone's gaze wandered towards Edward. "So this is the rumoured boy that stole the hearts of several influential men."

A deep blush then spread along the teen's cheek and an indignant growl left him. "What are you saying?" he yelled. "I didn't steal anyone's heart!"

The brunette's smirk grew wider as he watched the teen. "And he's as hot-headed as I was told." His green eyes gained something that must have been longing.

Edward backed away a step when he saw the man's look changing. _It's those eyes again! Why does every man have to look at me like that?_ The blonde kept silent, tempted to bite his tongue so he wouldn't utter a single word. Him saying any more could have ruined their plan after all.

Havoc slowly approached the man, scowl never faltering, until he was standing right in front of him. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion when the man didn't budge. "I'm going to handcuff you now." He reached out to let one hand settle on the man's shoulder and turned him around forcibly. Both of the man's wrists were trapped in his firm grip when he pulled out handcuffs out of his backpocket.

Amber eyes too narrowed suspiciously as Falcone didn't seem to resist at all. Just when Havoc was about to handcuff the man though, the teen gasped silently as the brunette whirled around, freeing his hands in the process, and roughly punched the soldier into the chest, sending him to the ground gasping for air. When he tried to run away, Edward gave chase and quickly caught up to Falcone. "Stop!" he yelled, as he threw himself at the man and caused them both to fall over without loosing any speed. The Fullmetal Alchemist felt the man beneath him colliding harshly with the ground and sliding further for about two metres.

"What the hell?" Falcone roared. "Brat, what are you doing?" Gone was the smug and mysterious aura that had surrounded the brunette only seconds earlier.

"I'm not a brat, old man!" Edward retaliated, voice rising into a roar as well.

The brown-haired man clenched his hands to fists, growling at the teen sitting on his back. "O-Old man? I'm twenty-six!"

"You're old!" the Fullmetal Alchemist yelled the man in the face.

"And you're short!" Falcone struggled to throw off the State Alchemist, but to now avail. "How old are you anyway? Eleven?"

"Who do you call short enough to be dissolved by a drop of ascorbic acid?"

"I didn't say anything like that, brat! Now get off and–" Falcone wasn't able to finish his rant for Havoc slammed his fist onto the man's head, effectively knocking him out.

"Finally, he shut up," the blonde sighed, pulling out his pack of cigarettes to place one of the coffin nails between his teeth, leaving it unlit. "That guy was getting more annoying with each word he said." He smiled at Edward who gave him a weak smile back, before his expression went serious again. "We need to know how the Lieutenant and Breda are doing and if they caught Rosomak. He's the most important after all." Not wasting any time, Havoc walked over to where he knew he had left the radio, the blond alchemist following him suit.

A few moments later, both were back in the room they had waited in for an hour, an unconscious and hand-cuffed Falcone beside them, Havoc awaiting the reply from the radio and Edward lingering beside him. A crackling sound from the radio announced an incoming message.

_"We got him,"_ Hawkeye's stern voice sounded._ "Heading back to Headquarters with the captive now. Out."_ Then the line went dead again, a wide grin appearing on Havoc's face.

"Mission accomplished," he chimed. "Everything went smooth and almost exactly after our plan." Small joyous laughter escaped the man as he spotted the genuine smile on his blond superior's face.

* * *

"And then he just kicked my knee, almost knocked me out when he punched me and ran away! Guess what happened next." Havoc shot Edward an expecting look, hoping for the already cheered up teen to open up even more to him.

Seemingly clueless, the blonde rubbed his cheek. "Don't know. Did Hawkeye shoot him in the butt?"

Only picturing that scene caused Havoc to break out into loud laughters. "No, she didn't, but she was about to. I think she had her hand on her gun, while her fingers were all twitchy. Breda went after the guy and knocked him out by throwing his gun at his head." His gaze softened when he heard Edward laugh beside him and a feeling of calmness enveloped him. It seemed that the teen had overcome his trauma of being raped far enough to behave normally around other people again. His smiles weren't faked and his genuine smiles enlightened Havoc, lifting his happy mood even more.

Both of them were about to round a corner on their way towards the car that would drive them back to Headquarters, when a figure caught Havoc's attention. Someone was around that corner, waiting for them to get closer.

Edward quickly noticed Havoc tensing up beside him and he let his gaze shift to where the man was looking. The face seemed familiar, but since the features were shadowed, he couldn't make them out. Before the teen could say anything, Havoc suddenly dashed towards the figure, launching himself at it and eliciting a shriek from what must have been a man.

"Havoc!" Edward called. "What's this supposed to– Jackson?"

Havoc was tightly gripping the other blond man's collar, visibly grinding his teeth. "You perverted pig! How dare you follow us! You only came here to get your dirty hands on Ed again, am I right?"

Jackson seemed as if he was being choked by Havoc's grip, going paler with each second. "H-Help," he crooked.

Panicking a little over Havoc about to kill the other, Edward desperately tried to get the blond soldier away from the Cretan. "Let him go! He isn't a bad guy!"

"He violated you!" the Second Lieutenant replied. "Something like that is unforgivable!"

"Can't you stop repeating and screaming it out like that? Do you want everyone in Central to know?"

"N-No," Havoc mumbled in a low voice, his grip on Jackson's collar loosening a little, but not enough to assure the former Lieutenant Colonel's survival. "But he is a criminal, a pedophile, a pervert! People like him belong into prison!"

"Please let me go," Jackson wailed weakly. "I didn't do anything."

Again, Havoc's grip tightened. "Don't screw around and act as if you didn't do anything!"

"Havoc!" Edward yelled, slowly becoming angry with the man. "If you don't let him go _now_, I'll kick you in the face!" He took a little pause to glare at the man, full force. "With my automail!"

Not even a split second passed and Jackson was released from the death grip, the Cretan coughing and gasping for air.

"That was close," he mumbled breathlessly. "Thanks, Edward."

For a few seconds, Edward and Havoc exchanged glances. The man sending the teen a questioning and surprised look and the teen responding with a somewhat angry yet assuring gaze. Finally, Havoc turned a little and fixed his attention on Jackson again.

"What do you want?" he inquired, anger still audible in his voice. "Why were you lurking around here like some criminal?"

Jackson risked a short glance towards the blond alchemist, who gave him a reassuring nod. "I came here to talk to Edward. It's about the group of avengers and informations about their plan."

The anger on Havoc's face only slowly dissipated and was replaced with surprise. "Then… say what you have to say and leave."

Wincing a little from the pain of being roughly pushed to the ground, Jackson got up and dusted off his clothes a little. "I was able to get the avengers to trust me a little more. They now entrust me with more information, so I was able to find out three information transaction points and their assigned times."

Edward's face lit up a little with realisation. "We just cut in into a transaction between Lieutenant Colonel Rosomak and a guy called Falcone. Rosomak had some files and Falcone was carrying an envelope. We only got a quick glance at what was in the envelope, but it's written in a code and I still have to decode it later."

"Just as expected from Falcone," Jackson chuckled. "He truly is a genius in gathering information, but he easily looses his cool and makes mistakes."

The corners of Edward's lips quirked up a little at the memory of the man ranting around and yelling at him as soon as he had been caught. "Yeah, I noticed. Anything else?"

"We really need to find a way stop this," Jackson continued. "Cretans intruding Headquarters and shooting people. It just has to stop."

Throughout the whole conversation, Havoc's venomous glare fixed on the Cretan alchemist never faltered. "And? Any idea how to do that?"

The man nodded, trying to ignore the other's glare. "We need to disable the ways of the avengers to get hold of weapons. Them getting into Headquarters so easily means that our suspicions definitely are right and that there's more than one traitor. A Lieutenant Colonel like Rosomak doesn't have enough power to enable something like that, so it would have to be at least a Colonel. Somehow, we need to find that person and avoid any further damage to Headquarters, or else we won't be able to fend off the big attack the avengers are planning if necessary."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Edward asked, scowling a little.

A small smile appeared on Jackson's face. "I'll tell you about the planned transactions. That way you can find the traitors within the Amestrian army and cut off their connections to the avengers. Once the Cretans don't have any way to get weapons and entry into Headquarters, they won't be able to pull off any attacks as easily as before."

"Okay," the younger alchemist nodded. "That's how we'll do it."

* * *

I've been sooooo lazy on this, I finished at least three thirds of this chapter just yesterday XD.

I just noticed something: Somehow the guys around Ed have certain roles I picture them in. Not consciously of course (I only noticed it after four months of writing this fic after all), but I write them in a way that I've always seen them in anyway. To me, Mustang is the father-figure for Ed that poses as role-model and the guy that saves his ass. Hughes acts as the mother caring for him and knowing how to comfort him and Havoc seems to me like the older brother that tries to cheer him up and is happy when he can make Ed laugh. I'm usually not a person for cheesy-mushy stuff, but I find this rather cute :3. I'm not a heartless sadist, people! Even if it might seem like it…

I also finished the first part of TYOS #3 for **brz**. It's called Sky Has Fallen and people seem to like it, even though it's really brutal and kinda cruel (much more than this story) XD.

T_T Somehow I had a huge writer's block on the transaction-scene. It only lasted for a few hours, but I really couldn't come up with how to continue, even though by now I've managed to plan out future chapters until the very end of this story. I really hated it and thought about just ending the story, because it seemed so troublesome to continue. But at least 600 people would kill me and throw my corpse into an unknown part of the Pacific with man-eating dolphins in it if I did that, so I kept writing and pretty much forced myself XP. Now I'm happy with the chapter though! ^^

Benze ;P


	20. Soiled Hands

Okay, I'm officially insane. I've been suspecting it for a while now, but now I have my proof: I'm addicted to buying manga. The first time I actually bought manga was about a month ago and now I have 29 volumes from 11 different manga. Don't ask me where I got that much money from, cause I don't know.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

* * *

Chapter XX  
– Soiled Hands –

Four people were assembled in one room. Some of them more tense than the other and some filled with pure anxiety. The interrogation of Brunon Rosomak was about to start, the ones to interrogate being Edward and Havoc, while Mustang, recently released from the hospital wing, accompanied them.

The Flame Alchemist had insisted on leaving the bed as soon as he had woken up the day earlier and despite Hawkeye's threats to finally shoot him to death, nothing was able to keep him from witnessing the interrogation. Part of him of course wanted to help resolve the problem around the group of avengers, but one part also wanted to watch over Edward, even if it meant enduring the pain walking alone already caused. He had long ago noticed the blonde's worried gaze on him every now and then. The raven-haired man knew that the teen must have been placing the blame of the incident, in which he had almost been killed, happening on himself completely.

_I need to talk to him soon._

The small room was solely lit by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling, casting eery shadows onto the walls. Right in the center stood a small table with two chairs facing each other. On one chair sat Rosomak and on the other Havoc, Edward standing beside him and Mustang watching them from a far corner.

Havoc had an unlit cigarette placed between his teeth, as per usual. "So let's skip the formals and get right to the point," he started with an ominous voice. "Why are you helping Cretans and what are they planning to do?"

Rosomak's gaze seemed glued to the table top in front of him. He hadn't even once looked any of them in the eyes. "That's none of your business," he spat. "You wouldn't understand anyway."

"Tell us and we'll let you go off easy," the blond soldier continued, completely ignoring the other's bad attitude. "We can also continue this way, you saying nothing, and see how it ends up. All I can say is that it won't end nicely."

This seemed to affect the raven-haired soldier and he appeared to mull it over. He had avoided Edward's gaze, knowing that the teen was staring daggers at him, as if wanting to kill him with the sole force of his hate-filled gaze. "I…" He went silent again, seeming to think it over again.

The Fullmetal Alchemist easily saw through the other man. Rosomak was putting on a tough mask, acting confident and strong, but in reality he was a timid man. Easily frightened and easily broken. _He's probably just doing all this after someone did something bad to him or because someone threatened and forced him to._

When Rosomak lifted his gaze to look at Havoc, the blond man just rose his eyebrows, urging him to finally speak. The raven-haired soldier released a deep sigh, trying not to start shaking from fear. "I'll be killed after this," he mumbled. "That's just how thinks work with the avengers. Join them and be loyal. Betray them and be killed. Though unspoken, it's a major rule within their reigns."

Havoc bit a little harder onto the unlit cigarette between his lips, finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. "Why did you join in the first place when you knew that it's such a dangerous group of people?"

Rosomak hesitated a little, his fear of being killed obvious. He didn't see another chance though. He had been caught, meaning he would be killed either way. "It's my wife."

Edward spoke up for the first time, the light of inflammation flashing in his amber eyes. "What does your wife have to do with all this?"

"She…" A look of utter sadness settled in the man's green eyes. "She died two years ago. Up until her death, she was being plagued by haunting nightmares every now and then. She would wake up screaming and crying, begging for _it_ to stop."

Havoc jumped a little in his seat, when Edward suddenly was leaning over his shoulder, hands slamming onto the small table.

"What does that mean?" the teen inquired.

The sadness in Rosomak's eyes deepened, becoming even more sorrowful. "My wife was a Cretan. She was one of the children that survived the massacre of Kerry and was able to escape. When it all happened, she was only nine and her whole family was killed. She once told me how she witnessed some of the village's men being shot, including her father." The man's gaze became heavy with tears that didn't fall. "Even though she always told me she was fine, I knew that she was only acting carefree. Sometimes even I couldn't tell if her smile was real or not. Ever since the massacre, she had problems with her lungs, since she received a smoke poisoning that day and never was able to recover from it completely. Her state became critical many years later and she suffered for three years until she died, the memories of her family being killed remaining until her very last moments."

The man went silent and for a while only silence was heard. Even though not all of them were showing they're feelings openly, one could see the sadness in all of their gazes.

"I feel ashamed for being an Amestrian," Rosomak continued. "My wife always told me that it wasn't my fault and that I shouldn't blame myself. Even when I joined the military to earn money, she still didn't place any blame on me. She was so understanding, but never truly shared her heavy burden with me. To me, the Amestrian State Military is the most despicable thing possible, its soldiers blindly following the orders of one single man. No matter how cruel the order, they follow."

Mustang chose this moment to fiercely walk up to the sitting man, violently slamming his hands onto the table top in front of Rosomak. "Stop spouting trash like that! It might be true that we follow one man, but it certainly isn't true that we blindly follow cruel orders! We have our goals and our morals and we don't abandon those out of loyalty! Even if we have to do things we'd rather not to, we still have hearts and wouldn't do this for no reason! Some have families to feed and some _want_ to serve their homeland! No matter how much effect our actions have and how cruel the things are we are forced to do, we still are humans!" The raven-haired man was interrupted by his own sudden coughing. He clasped a hand over his mouth, his coughs becoming more violent. Only slowly did it cease and Mustang lowered his hand, panting, only to find crimson splatters of blood on his white glove.

"Colonel!" Edward called, seeing that man's gaze was becoming glazed over.

Before the Flame Alchemist's body could collide with the hard floor, Edward was able to catch his fall together with Havoc, who grabbed the man and wrapped his arms around his chest to pull him towards a wall. The blond man helped Mustang to at least sit down and lean against the cool surface.

Immediately, the blond teen was sitting beside the two men. "Oi! Are you all right?"

"It's okay," Mustang wheezed out, holding his chest.

Of course, Edward noticed this and gently grabbed the man's wrist to pull his arm away from his chest. He gasped when he saw blood tinting the raven-haired man's chest. "A wound must have reopened!"

Havoc quickly picked up the tone of panic in the teen's voice. "Everything's okay, boss," he reassured. "We'll just get him to the medical wing and let them handle it. It's going to be fine." With rising dread, the blond man realised that his words didn't seem to get through to the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Edward was blankly staring at his own now blood-covered gloves. It was so much that it was still dripping from his hands, little crimson droplets descending towards the floor. He couldn't help it, but his hands started to shake, while his blink gaze was fixed onto his soiled gloves. Familiar shadows slowly closed in on him, a suffocating panic descending onto his mind, making him numb.

There was only the blood on his hands and nothing else. Only the crimson liquid was there, staring back at him, screaming at him, blaming him. It was blaming him for his disobedience. For his incapability to follow a simple order. For the Colonel to get injured. The man's blood was placing the blame on him.

The quiet dripping drove him near insanity. A seemingly inhuman rage suddenly rushed through his veins. It was rage about his own foolishness and naïveté. Edward felt a deep urge to smash something in, to break something, to kill. This rage, this lust for destruction, quickly faded only to be replacement by an even deeper panic. The blood didn't allow him to become infuriated. He was supposed to accept the guilt and atone for it.

A blood-curdling scream ripped from the teen's throat, startling the other occupants of the room.

Edward shot up from his position on the ground, hastily taking off his gloves, wanting to relieve himself of the blood's blaming screams. Hands shaking, he threw the white gloves tinted with crimson away and against a wall, making to remove his coat as well. He didn't care if he was damaging the material of his beloved red coat. It was soiled and therefor had to be disposed off. The black jacket covering his chest soon followed and he tried to take off his shirt as well, when suddenly he wasn't able to move his hands anymore. Fear clawed at his mind, making him wince with anxiety.

Tears streamed freely from the teen's eyes and Edward didn't seem to notice his own sobbing at all. His lungs felt so small and he wasn't able to breathe in enough air. The blame was trying to suffocate him.

_It burns._

The blonde's legs were weakening beneath him and he was about to collapse.

_My chest hurts._

A force was holding him upright, stabilizing his insecure posture.

_I'm choking._

Something warm suddenly engulfed the teen and he found himself in Mustang's arms, the man gently pressing him to his broad chest.

"It's okay," the Colonel whispered. "I'm fine now, so don't worry." A smile curled the man's lips, when he lifted his hand to soothingly pat the blonde's head. He had been the one to prevent Edward from taking off his shirt and had held his wrists in a tight grip above his head. Carefully, he wiped away the tears on the blonde's damp skin and released a sigh of relief as Edward's shaking steadily weakened. What worried him was the teen's breathing that didn't become normal at all.

Panic was still audible in the Fullmetal Alchemist's shaky breathes and pants, while tears still ran down his cheeks and sobs passed his lips.

Mustang didn't quite know how to comfort another person, especially someone like Edward that had been raped in the past. For once, the man relied on his instincts and started to soothingly stroke the blonde's head, feeling that it might help. Only slightly, he tightened his embrace around the teen and hoped for Edward to calm down.

Next to them stood Havoc beside which Rosomak still sat, both shocked and curiously watching the pair. You don't see a bloody Colonel embracing his mentally unstable subordinate everyday after all.

The Flame Alchemist jumped a little in surprise, when the once motionless Edward suddenly whirled around and wrapped his arms around his waist, still sobbing a little into his chest. A soft smile then grazed his lips, Mustang knowing that this was one of the rare moments in which the Fullmetal Alchemist openly showed his true feelings.

Edward felt his own heart beat slowing down again and his labored breathing calming. Those warm arms enveloping his trembling form reassured him and put his uneasy mind to peace. Finally. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "It was my fault. If I hadn't–"

"It's _not_ your fault," Mustang interrupted the teen in a firm yet gentle tone of voice. "It was my decision alone and I acted on my own free will." Almost indiscernibly, the man's grip around the blonde tightened. "Stop blaming everything on yourself. It won't get you anywhere."

Sniffing, Edward scowled into the man's warm chest. "How can you say something like that?"

"It's what I've been telling myself the past weeks ever since you were violated."

Amber eyes widened, a small surprised gasp leaving the teen. _He was this worried?_ "That…" The teen trailed off and released a deep breath. "Thanks."

* * *

The interrogation of Rosomak had been continued by Havoc and Hawkeye and both had managed to get enough information out of the man to be able to prevent more transactions from happening and that way assuring their chance of cutting off the Cretans' ways of being superior. Chances were good that, if everything went smoothly, the planned massacre on Amestris would be diverted.

"I don't understand it." A raven-haired Colonel walked up and down his office, restlessly mulling over the previous events in his mind. "I thought that he was stable again, but now he… he.…" The man trailed off, searching for the right word a few seconds, "broke down like this."

"He was raped, Roy," Hughes tried to calm his friend. "Of course that leaves him mentally unstable. He's been deeply scarred and he might always feel the pain he is feeling now. Knowing him though, he won't be brought down that easily. He just needs time to become fully stable again."

"It's just that he completely panicked seeing me cough up a little blood and my wound reopening. Just this amount of guilt he felt caused this all and I don't want to imagine how he would react if something really bad happened. He's just so unstable."

The green-eyed man nodded in agreement, worry etching onto his features. "I understand what you mean. Now we need to focus on saving Amestris though and not let those Cretans take any actions. Those attacks on us is what caused Edward's current state after all."

"Okay, let's prepare to go to that next transaction," Mustang stated firmly. "We still have to collect some informations and think up a tactic until tomorrow."

"No!" Hughes retorted loudly.

Mustang only blinked at the man's sudden outburst. "What?"

"You're in no shape to do anything beside lying down and healing up, my friend. You go back to your hospital room and rest."

"I can't just go to bed! Especially now! I have to–"

"You won't be doing anything, Roy!" Hughes cut in, knowing very well that being strict was the only way of getting Roy Mustang into a bed and recover from his wounds. "When you do any work _now_, you won't be able to help when we need you most. You'll be worrying Ed too, don't forget that."

Mustang, about to retort something, shut his mouth and kept silent, begging Hughes to give in with a glare. After only a few moments, he realised that it wasn't doing any good, so he sighed, reluctantly leaving his office and trudging towards his hospital room. _Now the whole effort of getting into my uniform in the first place will go to waste. _The Flame Alchemist heaved a deep sigh, somewhat groaning at the same time.

* * *

"Be careful not to step on one of those bottles. I already slipped on one of those things and it's not a good memory." Havoc's low whispering still sounded loud, despite his voice being rather quiet. Being in a large abandoned warehouse did seem to transport sound waves pretty well.

A click was heard and Hawkeye's gun, glistening dangerously even in the semi-darkness, was placed at the blond man's temple after not even a second. "Keep quiet," she ordered solemnly.

One of the man's eyes twitched in disbelief, realising that, indeed, Hawkeye was threatening to kill him for being 'noisy'. "O-Okay."

Not only Havoc and Hawkeye were in the warehouse to stop any transactions from happening, but Edward and Breda also were with them.

All in all, Rosomak had told them about three transactions that were essential to the actions of the avengers. Preventing those from happening meant being able to stop the actions of the Cretans. The man had revealed three people: Demetrio Castillo, Amanda Burlaine and someone called 'Okugi-san'. Castillo and Burlaine were Lieutenant Colonels, just like Rosomak, and had limited access to both weapons and enough information to enable attacks from the outside without anyone noticing. They hadn't found anyone called 'Okugi' in the records though, so they assumed that it was a code name to conceal the person's true identity. Finding him, apparently the one being the main cause for the Cretan's might, was probably the most complicated thing. Bringing down Castillo and Burlaine was somewhat easy compared to finding a person they didn't know the real name of.

A loud bang suddenly echoed throughout the building, startling the soldiers. Followed by the loud noise were hushed voices, seemingly bickering about something. Apparently, it was a female and a male, both nearby and behind the door Edward and the others were in front of.

Havoc turned around to his comrades, looking each in the face closely and receiving approving nods from everyone. He easily broke down the door the next moment, pulling out his gun with a swift move and pushing down the safety notch. "Stop right there!" he yelled.

Of course, this caused the two persons standing in the only scarcely lit room to halt their actions and make a run for it, both disappearing through different doors.

"Damn," Breda mumbled, running after the woman that was leaving through a door to the right.

"I'll go with him," Hawkeye stated, calm as ever. "You go after the other one." She didn't even wait for any kind of reply and simply headed after the Second Lieutenant.

Havoc, looking down at Edward's concentrated face, chuckled a little, pacing after the fleeing man together with the teen.

It didn't take them long until they heard footsteps in front of them, but since they already had a hard time not running into something in the darkness, it took them a while to actually catch up to the man. Suddenly, the sound of steps ceased, leaving Edward and Havoc in complete silence and not knowing where to go next.

"Damn," Havoc hissed, his fingers twitching to take a cigarette out of his pack and at least have it dangling from between his teeth, unlit. "We should've taken some flashlights with us, huh?" He didn't receive a response from the younger blonde, which surprised the man, since Edward always had something to say in this kind of situation. "Oi, why're you so silent? Got your mouth scared shut now?" A small laugh left the man, but Havoc felt himself becoming uneasier with each second that he didn't hear any sounds coming from his superior. "Chief? Say something."

_He's not here._

* * *

"Let me go!" Edward yelled, attempting to bite whoever was dragging him away. He had been running with Havoc and when it all went silent, someone had grabbed him and clasped a hand over his mouth, making him unable to struggle or yell. It was frustrating him how easy it seemed to be to just pick him up and take him away like that. A few moments of being dragged off followed, until the blonde was roughly thrown to the ground, getting the air knocked out of his lungs. It took him a while to recover and the moment he was able to think clearly again, someone was looming over his lying form. "What the–"

Something suddenly came crashing down onto the teen's mouth, effectively shutting him up. Edward held in his gasp, knowing that whoever was kissing him would take advantage of that and slip a certain wet muscle past his lips. _Isn't it kinda creepy that I somehow know what to do already? _The blonde didn't waste any time mulling that over and lifted his arms to try and push off the man that was covering his body at that moment. It didn't turn out to be of any use, so instead the Fullmetal Alchemist opted to do something else, letting his teeth crush down onto the other's lower lip, tasting the blood quickly oozing out. It disgusted him to no end, but he refused to show any weakness. Being pinned down to the wet floor by a stranger was embarrassing enough for one day.

Edward felt the mouth parting from his face, chuckles falling from the man's mouth and his own blood dropping down onto the blonde's face beneath him. A small gasp couldn't be contained by the Fullmetal Alchemist, when a hot mouth suddenly trailed over his neck, a tongue hungrily lapping at his flesh. His wrists were being held in a tight grip above his head and the other's weight on top of him made him unable to get up. _I only have this one choice, I guess_. Edward remained unmoving for a while, waiting for his chance to act. The man above moved forward on his knees a little and the blonde immediately used this moment to slam his left knee into his attacker's 'family jewels'.

A high-pitched grunt of surprise sounded, followed by loud groans of pain and true anguish. Edward's left knee was a part of his automail after all.

Feeling the weight on him slumping to the side, Edward quickly rose from the ground, anger flashing in his hot gaze. "Fuck you!"

The door suddenly swung open widely, a flash of light suddenly blinding the blond teen. He shielded his narrowed eyes with one hand, trying to identify whoever stood in the door frame.

"Chief!" Havoc called out, seeing his superior doing well. "What happened? You suddenly disappeared and–" This was when Havoc noticed the man lying on the floor, hands wrapped around the bulge between his legs, groaning in pain. "What the hell is this guy _doing_?" the blond soldier exclaimed, anger showing up in his cerulean eyes as well. "Did he touch you?" he asked Edward, holding the flashlight he had found lying in a shelf into the teen's face.

"Um…"

This was answer enough for Havoc. "He did! That bastard! How dare even try to… to…" The blond man trailed off, not wanting to bring up that certain topic. "What a pervert!"

"It's okay, nothing happened." Edward tried to calm the man, but seeing the man's outraged face somehow amused him, making him smile.

A shiver ran down Havoc's spine, when he saw the younger blonde's smile, blood smudged all over his mouth. "Uh… what happened?" He pointed a finger at his own face, indicating what he meant.

"Oh, I… bit him," the alchemist replied calmly.

Of course, Havoc checked to see where exactly his companion had bitten the man and felt more rage coiling up when he saw the groaning man's injured lower lip. "He was _kissing_ you?" he yelled.

"Uh…"

"He was!" the Second Lieutenant shouted. "I can't believe it! How can he–"

"Havoc!" Edward cut in into the man's rant. "I'm okay now. Nothing happened, so calm down."

"It's just…" Again, Havoc trailed off, staying silent for only a few moments. "I was so worried when you suddenly disappeared and I kinda panicked. Then I was so relieved about you being fine, so now I'm a little… you know… fussy." A small smile appeared on the blond man's face, seeing Edward brightly grinning at him. _Maybe he doesn't need as much protection as I thought he would._

* * *

I'm dying… Seriously now! I noticed only a while ago that I barely get six hours of sleep (sometimes even just five hours) a day. That's because I stay up late reading fanfics so much XP. This whole week I also had to study for tests in Chemistry, English (piece of cake, duh), Latin (panic! D:) and additionally, in only one day, had to prepare a project for computer science. Why do teachers set up dates for tests and stuff in a way that they pile up in TWO damn days? D:

Umm… quick announcement: The next chapter will be the final chapter. And I mean final. No epilogue or sequel after it. ^^; Heh, I can imagine at least 500 people out there wanting to kill me… But don't worry, my lemons! I'll do my best to make it an awesome ending! ^^

Benze ;P


	21. Final Meeting

Yay! This story broke my past record of 82,086 words on my German story! ^^ Okay, it's a difference of only about 4,000 words, but hey! It still surpassed my past record! XD

8D I'm finally 16! My birthday was five days ago, on the 10/10/10 (awesome date, huh? It's the same as Naruto's birthday XD) and now I turned sixteen! Now I can finally buy those video games and movies I couldn't get before! ^^ I should've told you guys this before my birthday, shouldn't I?… Ah well XD.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

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Chapter XXI  
– Final Meeting –

_"I can't just forget it like that."_

_"Just believe me when I tell you it wasn't your fault."_

_"But it was! If only I had listened to what you said, you wouldn't have been injured."_

_"You weren't the one to actually shoot me. I acted on my own, so it's my own fault and not yours."_

_"Still… I can't just forget."_

_"As long as you don't break your little mind by brooding over stupid things like that, I'm fine with it."_

_"Hey, what do you mean by that, old man?"_

_"Just get in the car, Fullmetal."_

This was what had taken place between Mustang and Edward prior to the mission in which the final traitor was to be revealed. Edward and the others had successfully taken out and arrested Castillo and Burlaine, the only one left being the so called 'Okugi-san'. Of course, this irked everyone that knew of this code name, since 'okugi' was a Japanese word and literally meant 'secret' or 'hidden purpose'. They knew that with this the Amestrians were being mocked and laughed at, the worst thing being that they had no idea about the traitor's true identity, unlike with the traitors they had encountered before. All that was left was relying on the information provided by Jackson, giving the place and time of the transaction. This transaction was a crucial one, since the leader of the Cretan avengers was supposed to show up. If the Amestrian army was to catch him, all possibilities of Cretans attacking them was completely nullified. A group without a leader is like a ship without a rudder after all.

"Where are they?" Breda wanted to know, uncomfortably crouched down beneath a window. "It's about time they showed up by now."

Hawkeye immediately shushed him. "Keep your voice down and be patient, Second Lieutenant."

The red-haired man simply huffed, averting his gaze towards the scene outside the window.

They were hiding in a partially broken down house that was near the planned transaction point. A few others, including Fuery and Falman, were supposed to follow whoever was approaching the meeting point in case they should escape after maybe discovering that they had been found out. Hawkeye and the others were expecting whoever Okugi-san was to appear and meet the leader of the Cretan avengers.

It was ten minutes past the planned time of the meeting and the soldiers were becoming anxious. Had they been found out?

Breda couldn't stand this silent waiting. "It's no good," he hissed, obviously annoyed and steadily becoming impatient. "They found out about our plan and are doing that transaction somewhere else." The redhead then was roughly whacked by his comrade.

"Stay quiet," Havoc snarled. "They'll show up, so keep patient." He clasped a hand over Breda's mouth when he again tried to retort.

Both their ranting was interrupted with steps suddenly sounding. Pebbles were crunching beneath someone's feet, rushed steps growing in volume and approaching the soldiers. They soon could see a man standing in front of their hide-out, barely a few metres away from them.

Only about a minute passed and another man approached, his steps much heavier and louder than the other's.

"Sorry, I'm late," the blond newcomer, having his back to his observers, greeted. "Someone definitely was following me, so I had to take a shortcut." He was still glancing to this right and left, apparently to make sure that no one was watching them. Of course, he wasn't able to spot anyone since the Amestrian soldiers were hidden well in the darkness.

The other man's face was concealed by a hat casting a shadow over his features. "Don't mind it. I've been followed too and had to take another way around to get here. Seems _those_ people are getting a wind of what we're doing. Our past transactions all ended unsuccessful and we weren't able to get in contact with any of those involved." The apparently brown-haired man scoffed, obviously annoyed about his ally's incapability. "We need to get this over with smoothly, or all our chances for success will be ruined." The man too peered around, hoping to be safe.

"Can you provide _them_ until the end of this week?" the blond man inquired. "I think we need to start everything sooner, since the Amestrian military is on our tails already. I really can't tell how much longer we'll be able to stay hidden like this without them completely finding us out."

The middle-aged brunette casually waved it off. "Don't worry about it."

The Amestrian soldiers then watched the brown-haired man pushing a hand into his pocket.

That was the moment Amestris might have been doomed.

It was the moment everything went to hell.

The sound of someone's protesting yells suddenly reached the ears of Havoc and the others, alarming them of approaching danger. Not only Havoc spotted the smug smirk that sprawled onto the brunette's face in front of them.

"Apparently…" the man spoke up, slyness in his voice, "we caught a few rats."

Three men suddenly emerged from the shadows, holding on to two persons the soldiers hiding in the surrounding buildings knew all too well.

"Let me go!" Edward yelled, being yanked along at his collar by a Cretan. "You're choking me!"

Mustang too was being dragged towards the blond and the brunette, his face a calm mask, even though his mind was twirling with panic.

They had been found out.

The brunette man then stepped up, his smug smirk evil and foreboding. "And so we meet again, Colonel Mustang, Major Elric." Gracefully, he lifted his hand to remove his hat, throwing it into a puddle like discarded trash.

A small gasp left Edward. "Colonel Whelan?" he exclaimed, averting his gaze towards the blond man next to Whelan. "And you–" After Whelan had nodded towards the man that held Edward, the teen was shoved towards the ground, his chin painfully hitting the pavement covered in pebbles. "Damn," he wheezed out.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang's calm mask was about to falter, his panic slowly becoming visible.

Havoc gritted his teeth, knowing that this was the moment he had to step in and help. He shot up from his knelt down position, but was interrupted by Whelan speaking up again.

"I know that more of you are hiding somewhere in the shadows. For that reason…" Whelan then calmly pulled out a gun from his black coat, pointing it at the teen's head, "I'll only allow one single person to come out. Someone I urgently want to talk to."

Mustang's brows furrowed in confusion. _What is he talking about?_

"Come on out…" Whelan called out, "Jackson."

For a while, only silence reigned over the abandoned place. Breathes were being held, anxiety rising, adrenaline rushing through blood, bodies stiffening in nervousness. All because everyone was waiting for a sound in the silence.

Many hiding in the shadows jumped either inwardly or outwardly, when the sound of pebbles crunching beneath boots was heard. Steadily, the noise was becoming louder, until everyone could see the man.

"Jackson," the blond man next to Whelan snarled.

The former Lieutenant Colonel, once known as the Black Thorn Alchemist, motionlessly stared at the blond man in shock. His white shirt was swaying in the light breeze, emerald eyes glistening with trepidation. "You…" he mumbled almost inaudibly, "You're still alive?"

The blond man only growled, snarling at the other man. "Damn right I am, Draigen!"

Despite the other sending him a venomous glare, Jackson smiled with relief. "I'm so glad you're still alive, Brian."

Mustang, still held captive by Cretans, immediately recognized the man. A blond Cretan named 'Brian'. Only one man came to the Colonel's mind: Brian O'Farrel, the man that had been interrogated weeks earlier when Mustang and Hughes had been trying to find out who had raped Edward. _He's the leader of the Cretan group of avengers?_

Edward too remembered the name well. He risked a glance upwards to confirm his assumption and quickly lowered it when he had seen the familiar face. _He's one of the only survivors of Kerry! Was he the Brian Jackson mentioned? His cousin?_ _They obviously know each other, so…_

"You betrayed us!" O'Farrel suddenly yelled. "How could you do this to your homeland, Draigen? To the survivors and _me_?"

The relieved smile placed on Jackson's face became one of hurt. "I hate myself for causing you so much pain, Brian."

"Bullshit!" The Cretan jolted, grabbing Edward from the ground and dragging him upwards. "You care for this brat, right?" A crazed glare was shot at the teen, while O'Farrel held the alchemist in a tight grip around his neck and pressed the barrel of his gun against his temple. "Tell me your reason for betraying us and I won't blow away this brat's damn head!"

The man, that Mustang had first encountered as collected and cautious of his actions and what he was saying, now was the embodiment of a mad man. Whelan on the other hand was watching the scene with a bemused smile.

Sincere worry and sadness flicked over Jackson's gaze, as he pondered what to do. "Put away the gun, Brian. Please."

"You have no right to demand anything, you traitorous bastard!" Brian continued to yell again.

At those words, Jackson flinched back a little, disappointed about his first meeting after twenty years with his only left blood relative to turn out in such a way. "I was forced to," he mumbled, staring at the ground he stood on.

O'Farrel did consider this, wondering if wether or not he should believe this. "By who?"

The former Lieutenant Colonel's calm face gained a fierce scowl that was directed at the brunette next to his cousin. "By this man. I was taken hostage after we fled and then taken in by him. Whenever I tried to run away… he did horrible, _horrible_ things to me and forced me to stay until I wasn't able to return at all anymore."

"That's a lie," Whelan suddenly cut in. "I never did such a horrendous thing as force a Cretan to stay here in Amestris. Why would I help Cretans to invade in order to destroy Amestris then?"

Of course, this let doubts arise in O'Farrel about what Jackson had told him. Who should he believe? The man that was helping him to reach his goals, or the cousin he hadn't seen in twenty years and was part of the enemy's force? He showed his decision by pressing the barrel of his gun harder against Edward's temple. "You liar!" he snarled at Jackson. "I'll kill this damn brat, if you don't tell me the truth _now_!"

The other blond Cretan's lips curled into a frown as he noticed the Fullmetal Alchemist tensing up. _I have to do something!_ Slowly, he approached his cousin, open palms raised to show that he was unarmed. "Brian, we can talk this over calmly." With each step that he made towards the other, O'Farrel's scowl deepened and he began to shake his head. "We're cousins! You're my last blood relative, my only family! I have no reason to lie to–"

"You have reason enough!" O'Farrel interrupted. "This brat looks like Fennore, so it was easy for him to persuade you into lying to me! Into betraying your own home country!"

Jackson slowed down, his desperation growing. Talking to his cousin was like trying to swim against the stream. Whenever he would say something to him, even if it was the truth, O'Farrel retorted, simply refusing to believe him and have faith in him. "Brian, please! I–"

A gunshot rang through the air, barely missing Jackson's feet, O'Farrel tightening his grip around Edward. "Stay back! Don't come any closer!" The man's finger wrapped around the gun's trigger trembled as Jackson didn't stop at all, continuing to approach him in a slow pace.

_He's my cousin. He won't shoot me! _Hoping to talk some sense into his cousin, Jackson now only stood a few metres away from O'Farrel. He kept walking, not stopping and wishing for a normal conversation with his cousin.

Another gunshot ripped through the air. This time though, all hell went loose.

Edward watched Jackson falling to the ground, blood gushing from a gash in his chest.

Amestrians and Cretans suddenly clashed together. Everyone fought for the victory of their own desires.

Mustang freed himself from the Cretan's grasp, letting his fist collide with some of their faces. His hands free, he slipped on his beloved gloves to send lightnings of flames at his foes.

Havoc and Hawkeye had their eyes fixed on the place that now was a battlefield, shooting down whoever was Cretan, but not killing them.

Rushed steps sounded, shots ricocheted, screams echoed, bodies fell, voices went silent, men died.

Only Edward still lay there, the Cretan holding him not loosening his grasp. The teen had to see Jackson's pale face, eyes becoming glazed over. Amber eyes widened, ragged breathes were coming from the alchemist.

Something snapped in the blonde's mind.

With a jolt and an enraged yell, Edward freed himself from the grasp. Without any second of hesitation, he transmuted his automail arm into a razor sharp blade.

It didn't take long until someone tried to attack the blond teen. That person though was also the first to be ruthlessly slashed by the Fullmetal Alchemist's blade.

If the man survived or died, Edward didn't care. Fury pulsated throughout his whole body, setting his nerves on fire and making the teen want to smash something, even if it meant hurting someone. It was something unknown to the teen, something frightening. This fury, this rage, this _panic._ Edward wasn't able to tame any of it.

And so a dozen men fell by the hand of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Dead or alive, no one might ever know.

When the battle came to an end and silence wafted over the place, Mustang, his subordinates and everyone involved lowered their weapons, panting heavily. Amestris had won the battle and had prevented the Cretans of destroying their homeland. They let their gazes travel, saw bodies littering the ground. A few chests were rising and falling, while others had stilled. Hawkeye and Breda were handcuffing one raven-haired man that was barely alive, while another blond man lay on the ground, his body resting in a pool of his own blood. In the center of the bloodshed, Edward knelt with his blade still not reversed into its usual form. The teen just sat beside one body, shaking slightly.

Mustang, not wanting to wait for any kind of reaction from the teen, walked over to where the blonde sat, crouching down beside him. "Fullmetal," he called softly in a low voice. "It's over now." He lay a hand on his subordinate's shoulder, sending a sad smile at the teen when his head turned to look at the man.

Sadness was all one could see in Edward's eyes. He turned his head away from the Colonel again to look down at the man lying on the ground. "He's dying," the blonde muttered. "He tried to protect me and…"

"It's not your fault," a voice suddenly croaked.

Tears welled up in the Fullmetal Alchemist's eyes as he eyed the dying man looking up at him, eyes half-lidded, breathes ragged and blood oozing out of the wound in his chest. "But…"

Jackson's fingers twitched, before he raised a hand to let it rest on Edward's upper arm. A smile, seeming tired, curled the blond man's lips. "I'm glad that I was able to help you in some way." With grief that the man didn't show, the Cretan noticed the crimson blood splattered all over the teen. "Edward…"

The blond teen's eyes widened as he noticed the seriousness in that one word. "W-What?"

The grip on the teen's arm tightened as Jackson spoke up again. "Can you forgive me for what I did?"

Unable to utter any words for sobs would have passed his lips, Edward frantically nodded, sniffing.

Mustang witnessed everything, his hold on his subordinate's shoulder tightening indiscernibly. He felt his own heart drop when the Cretan's gaze suddenly shifted towards him.

"Colonel," the man wheezed out with a pleading look, "please make sure to protect his pureness."

This startled Mustang slightly. He had a vague idea of what the man meant, so he only nodded with a stern look. His further thoughts were interrupted by Edward speaking up again.

"Why were you helping us?" the teen asked, barely able to hold back his tears. "Aren't you Cretan? Your family was killed by Amestrians, so why don't you hold a grudge against us?"

Jackson's smile brightened a little, his eyes slowly becoming dull. "I'm sure you can understand that by yourself. Take good care of yourself, Edward."

Edward panicked slightly when the man's eyes began to close and his breathing slowed. "You can't die, you idiot!" The man's hand still resting on his upper arm, the teen grabbed it to hold it in his own.

_His hand is so cold…_

He could see life slowly draining away from the man.

_He's not breathing anymore…_

The smile on Jackson's face never faltered.

_He's dead…_

* * *

Hey, hey, my lovely lemons! ^^ Good news: I will be making an epilogue to this, so there won't be any need to hunt me down in order to chop off my head with a rusty chainsaw, ne? I won't leave this story with such a cruel end and will add a small scene in the epilogue to this. Actually, I've been planning to put that scene into this chapter, but somehow I have the feeling it would ruin the mood of the end of this chapter. So I'm making it another chapter that I'll upload next week. No two weeks of waiting, people! XD

Since many of you have been hoping for some serious RoyxEd fluff in this, I decided to make up for the lack of it in my final TYOS called **Gravity**. It's already uploaded, so anyone in dire need of some romantic RoyxEd action can go read that. It's the reward for Azkatelia since she was the 100th reviewer of this story ;D.

By the way: Everything I used for the Cretans, mostly the names, are all based on one country. Did anyone notice which one that is by now? XD It shouldn't be that hard to find out actually.

Benze ;P


	22. Epilogue: Cleansing Rain

Hey, hey! So, this is the last chapter to this story. ^^ I hope you'll like it.

In case you still don't know: I based the names of the Cretans on Ireland. And by the way: I spent some time correcting mistakes in the first chapters. I almost got some kind of seizure seeing what kind of stupid mistakes I did a few months ago ^^;

Some people also have been wondering about the last chapter, telling me they've seen it before, even though it hadn't been up for even a week. I deleted and re-uploaded Ch. 19 a while after I uploaded Ch. 21 and I changed the order again (Ch. 19 was Ch. 21 temporarily). Sorry for the confusion ^^;

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

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Epilogue:  
– Cleansing Rain –

A light breeze swayed over the wide field. Stones littered the rich green grass, names carved in each surface. A clear blue sky hung high over the looming sadness, hovering above with calmness.

One man stood in front of a small group of sorrowing people. His honey blond hair glistened in the bright sunlight, while he looked down at the gravestone in front of him. "My cousin, Jackson, was a very honest and caring person. Sadly, I only realized this when it was already too late. He deeply cared for the well-being of others and felt remorse at seeing other's pain. I am going to read a blessing to you that has been handed down in our family for generations and always has been read aloud during someone's burial. Please listen carefully:

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there… I do not sleep.

I am the thousand winds that blow…

I am the diamond glints on snow…

I am the sunlight on ripened grain…

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you waken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of gentle birds in circling flight…

I am the soft star that shines at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry–

I am not there… I did not die…

I hope each and every one of you will keep my cousin in good memory." O'Farrel bowed a little, before stepping away, limping a lot, and mingling into the small group.

Said group slowly dissipated, each person going their own way and leaving. One person remained standing at the gravestone. Another person, that had been about to leave, noticed this and looked back.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang called, walking back to where his subordinate stood. He regretted having harbored such a big hate for Jackson, even though Edward seemed to have cared for him. To the Flame Alchemist, the question who had raped Edward still remained unsolved. Looking at the back of the blonde's head, Mustang remembered the Cretan's word before he had passed away.

"I know why he helped us now," Edward suddenly muttered, startling his superior a little. "I thought about it since he died and now I know why he helped Amestrians, even though he was Cretan and his family was killed by our soldiers."

Mustang tilted his head a little, deciding to remain silent and just listen.

Slowly, Edward turned around, while his gaze stayed fixed to the grassy ground. "I think it's because he didn't want to end up like the people that took everything from him. He knew the pain of loosing his family, so he decided not to cause that same pain for someone else. That's the only reason I can think of."

The Flame Alchemist contemplated this, regarding the teen's words. It seemed plausible to him and in the end it was what he believed too. _But still…_ "I want to ask you something, Fullmetal, and I'd like you to answer honestly."

That amber gaze lifted to meet the man's onyx eyes, searching for indications of what the other was about to ask. "Depends on what you're asking."

"Please." Mustang rarely begged, especially not to his subordinates. But seeing that this was Edward and that he hadn't gotten any clear answer to this topic from him yet, he didn't see another way.

Edward sighed, his gaze dropping again. "Okay."

The Colonel took a deep breathe, focusing his eyes on his subordinate. "Who raped you when it wasn't Jackson? All the evidence we found named him as the culprit and we didn't find any other possible suspect."

Something odd occured and Edward's eyes went somber and frigid. "It wasn't Jackson. Someone else… violated me. That person is… He doesn't have an own body and used Jackson's."

"What?" _Is he still suffering from after-effects of the painkillers? But they should've worn off weeks ago!_ "I don't–"

"Jackson had a split personality."

The wind howled, decayed leaves flying past their feet. The once blue sky was soon darkened by heavy gray clouds, shadowing the land below.

"A split personality?" the Colonel repeated. "So his split personality raped you?" Mustang watched the teen nod, newfound fury raging through his body. "Then with Jackson's death, that second personality vanished?"

"I guess so."

Rain started to pour down onto the pair, soaking them within only a few seconds.

Mustang walked towards his subordinate, resting a hand on the teen's shoulder when he reached him. "It's okay now." He could easily feel the teen shaking beneath his hand.

Ever since Jackson had died, Edward hadn't shed a tear, not allowing to cry over the man's death. He just kept stubborn, telling himself that the man wouldn't have wanted him to grieve and cry.

"It's okay to feel sorrow, Fullmetal," Mustang calmly spoke. "Don't lock it away and let it eat away at you."

Edward suddenly rushed forward, burying his face in his superior's chest and tightly grabbing the material of the black jacket. His sobs were muffled by the thick fabric, his tears absorbed by it.

With a sad smile, the Colonel wrapped one arm around his subordinate's shoulder, letting the other rest on the blonde's head. He felt the teen's legs give away beneath him and together with Edward he sunk to the ground, the Fullmetal Alchemist crying into his chest.

The rain kept falling and falling, washing away dirt and washing away sorrow.

**– End –**

* * *

I haven't been intending to make this some kind of reference to Hughes' funeral ^^; It just wrote itself like this. Also, I actually had been planning to let Brian O'Farrel die, but since I needed someone to read the (Irish) blessing for Jackson's funeral _and_ someone that would have been able to know of this certain blessing, I let him alive ^^

Oh snap! (Yes, I'm not cursing _that_ bad anymore) I totally forgot to tell you guys about the other TYOS I finished, didn't I? Oh well… So it's called Wonderland Dreams. It's for Detective Conan and is Anie-chan's reward for reviewing so much.

So then, thanks for reading everyone! I hope to be able to write a lot more stories that will be as successful as this one. In case anyone is interested in DGM and yaoi, be sure to read my upcoming story (that still doesn't have a title ^^;).

And in case any of you finds a manga called 'Purple Flame' in a bookstore a few years later from now: That'll mean that I wrote (and of course drew) a manga :P.

Benze ;P


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